


Make you cry about it

by francoantoniohierro



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Asshole!Gerard, Drug Use, Hooker!Frank, Human Trafficking, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Prostitution, Rich!Gerard, Smut, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-04 08:19:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10987077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/francoantoniohierro/pseuds/francoantoniohierro
Summary: AU: Gerard throws a party, gets wasted and accidentally buys a person. His dealer doesn’t take any refunds.





	1. Party on a sunday

**Author's Note:**

> yo. my cat is sick and i wrote this while the vet was taking care of him. i don't fucking know. i hope my cat turns out okay. i love him so much.
> 
> there's a very obvious sex scene missing from this chapter and it's because i didn’t want to write smut while i was in the waiting room (next to a very young person). My apologies. I might add it later. I’ll probably change the name of this thing too. If anyone cares... 
> 
> i might delete this later lol

“I don't know, this doesn't seem like a good idea”  
Mikey said, looking at the booze that Gerard had brought. His living room was filled with bottles, all in different sizes and colors. The usual stuff for Gerard. Scary stuff for Mikey.

“What are you talking about? Am I not allowed to have fun now?” Gerard snapped immediately, feeling insulted by Mikey’s statement. He got really defensive about his choices, considering that people were picking on them constantly. 

“No, I mean...” Mikey continued, avoiding his brother’s gaze. “I just don't want to get you in trouble man. Mom and dad are not gonna be happy about this”

It was a sunday at 5 pm. There was no need to start a party. Gerard was supposed to be saving money, not buying more alcohol. The entire thing was only going to make things worse with his dad. Things were already pretty bad between Gerard and his dad. Mikey was not going to contribute to it. 

“Look, I'm just gonna invite some friends over and that's it. They're never going to find out. I have to see mom tomorrow, do you really think I'm gonna get trashed? It's not gonna be anything major.”

“I just don't feel like staying for all of that” Two months ago Gerard had thrown a gigantic party. It costed tons of money and his house ended up with damages everywhere. Gerard’s dad, Don, had to pay for all of that. Don had almost killed both Gerard and Mikey. Mikey could not get dragged into that again. If he wasn't at the party he wasn't getting any of the blame “I'm going home, man.”

That party had been a wreck. Gerard’s family didn’t trust him anymore. But that wasn’t going to stop him from doing more stupid shit. 

“It's fine, I'll see you tomorrow then”  
***

Gerard was so fucking pissed that Mikey had left. Why didn't he want to party with him anymore? Was he not good enough? Was it because Don threaten him? Who the fuck did Mikey think he was? It seemed so illogical. Mikey was the only real friend that Gerard had - it seemed pointless to throw a party without him. Gerard officially hated everyone in his family.

The music was blasting and fifteen of his “friends” we're watching the stupid football game. Mikey would have known better. Football was just an excuse to get drunk, but those fucking minions were actually engaged in it. Gerard couldn't watch the tv screen for more than a second. It felt like a shitty party he would have thrown when he was 14. People making small talk, eating chips, drinking at a reasonable pace - Only the red cups were missing. Everyone was fucking lame. Don had probably warned them about not getting anywhere near Gerard. They had to be “casual” now.

“This is bullshit.” Gerard declared. His comment was hardly audible from the sound of the threatening rap music and the commentators of the game. 

No one had brought any girls. No one was getting wasted. What was the point? Most of his friends had work tomorrow and weren’t staying late. It felt like a big waste of time for everyone involved. Every couple of minutes something in the football game would happen and people would yell at the screen - that was not the party he had envisioned. Everyone was wearing khakis, for god’s sake!

He grabbed his phone to text Carl. Carl wasn't a friend of him in any way, but he always had a way of bringing tons of coke and girls to parties. It was the most expensive plug he knew. He hadn't spoken to Carl in a while, but it felt necessary. Without Mikey, there was no way he was going to get through the night with booze alone. He needed a good time. 

Last time he had talked to Carl had ended with his friends destroying his house. But that wasn’t Carl’s fault. So what was the big deal? His party wasn’t anywhere near as big this time. All his messy friends weren’t even invited. Gerard texted Carl to bring “guests” without bothering to specify the type, and to get him “good stuff”. He was bored out of his mind, he didn’t care what Carlos brought to the party. 

Getting Carl into the party was expensive too, so Gerard knew that he was going to have to spend some of his savings for it. He took a drink to that. 

Surely, Mikey could help him pay his bills at the end of the month.

***  
Gerard was pretty straightforward when he talked to Carl, if he needed two girls at his party he asked for them. But this time he had only said “guests”, thinking it wouldn’t make any difference. Cause when he said “guests” he just expected Carl to bring two girls - per usual - not three girls, two dudes and one girl who didn't know any English.

He didn't care though. He could afford it. Well, sort of, with his savings he could. He was way too drunk to argue about the “extra” guests. He just payed upfront and went back to the party. Everyone seemed to like the idea of bringing girls over, so why ruin it? His friends were already all over them. He just wanted to get wasted and forget about all of it.

He took another drink. The foreign blonde girl from the group was being touched by Bert. That foreign blonde girl was the only one that caught his attention: and now she was ruined. Gerard took another drink and stared as his friends tried talking to the obvious hookers he had brought. The music felt louder now, and the tv was off. Gerard was the only one sitting and drinking, while everyone else seemed to be around the girls.

They were pretty, sure, but it was clear what they were there to do. Short skirts, short dresses, lots of cleavage, red bottoms. Crystal clear job. And boring. The two men there weren't as obvious. The male guests were wearing dark suits and looked pretty normal. No one was really paying attention to them. They were sort of stuck in a corner waiting for some attention. They weren’t drinking or dancing, at best they would nod to each other.

Gerard was looking at one of them in particular. The short one with big eyes. He looked too young to be “working”. When the man caught Gerard gaze he smiled immediately, and for a second Gerard thought it was genuine. It wasn't, but it made him feel more than the other girls did. _Guess it's one of those nights_.

“Hey! Come over here!”  
Gerard yelled, looking at the short man. The man kept smiling as he got closer, as if he was actually excited to talk to him. Gerard was sitting in his leather couch with his legs spread wide. He had been drinking, and the entire thing looked like a bad idea. Once the short man was close enough Gerard snapped and said “On your knees” 

The man did as he was told. Gerard couldn't stop staring at his stupid face. He was so pretty. He liked his eyes the best. He wanted to see how he looked while he choked on his cock. God, he wanted to see how he looked with cum all over his face. He was so pretty. The other hookers were hot, but he was fucking pretty.

“What's your name, sugar?”  
Gerard said with a smirk. He was still looking directly to his eyes, and imagining what he looked like after he had ruined him.

“I'm Frank”  
The stranger said, smiling. His smile was something else too. Gerard knew Frank was his type. His lips didn’t even look like he had a disease, which was always a plus with hookers.

“Tell me about yourself would ya?”

“I like big cocks ” He ended with a phony chuckle, trying to please him. Frank had to admit to himself, he was almost excited. A few minutes earlier he had thought he was going to spend the entire party without nothing to do, but the stranger had changed that. Even better, the man was the owner of the house. The man even spoke to Carlos. How lucky. He had to be important.

“Who doesn't?”  
Gerard said, making Frank giggle. He palmed himself through his jeans. Frank watched with genuine amusement. They were in the middle of living room where anyone could see them. Gerard was too drunk to care if anyone saw him. 

_This all wouldn't have happened if Mikey had stayed_ , he thought to himself. _Mikey wouldn't let me get crabs again_.

“I’m Gerard.” He said. He had to introduce himself. If he didn’t, what was Frank going to scream? “How much is this going to cost?”  
Gerard asked, before the stranger could get any closer to his crotch. 

“This one’s on the house”

The stranger said. He was cheeky like that. Frank had to fake a lot of things during “special” parties, but that was a honest gesture. If Gerard hadn't payed attention to him no one else would have. The rest of the men at the party were clearly straight. It was a football party, for christ sake! And Frank didn’t hate his job - not all the time, at least. On some rare occasions he found it fun, and Gerard definitely looked fun.

But of course, there was no such thing as “on the house”. There was “i’m not telling my pimp about this.” Which was a very dangerous move on his part, but he didn’t care. Frank liked getting into trouble. Even if the girls at the party noticed and told Carlos, Carlos had a soft spot for him anyways. He always forgave him.

“Oh yeah?” Gerard smirked. He was drunk and felt cocky. Alcohol usually did that to him. And to his bad luck, Mikey wasn't around to calm him down. He pulled out his wallet and opened it. He was showing the hooker how full it was. He wanted the hooker to want him. “What's this going to get me then, uh? Your soul?”

Gerard started laughing maniacally at that. The hooker laughed too, but didn't take his eyes off the wallet. Frank couldn’t believe how much money the man was carrying around. Gerard was oblivious as to how strange they both looked. He was bragging about his money to a hooker. He had a hard on and the hooker was on the floor looking at his wallet. How sad was that? Mikey would have slapped him for that shit.

“I can give you anything you want. I can take anything. I can cook, I can clean, I can live in a fucking basement if you want me to. I can be whatever you want”  
Frank said all of this while staring directly at the dollar bills inside the wallet. Not even bothering to look at Gerard once. He had never gotten so lucky in his life. He was desperate to keep things good.

“You're boring me”

“I'm serious” The stranger reached to grab the wallet, but Gerard didn't let go off it. Frank let go off it immediately. “You can do anything you want to me”  
He finally looked at Gerard after his last sentence. 

“Can you take it raw? Or am I going to wake up in a hospital?”  
Gerard asked. He was completely serious. It was a life-or-death situation to him. Or at least to his dick. Fucking raw was his favorite thing in the word and it would make all the difference in the world if Frank was down for that.

But then again, he was also very drunk. Frank could have said he was a virgin right then and there and he would have nodded in agreement.

“I'm clean. I get checked all the time.” Frank put emphasis on those last three words. He wasn’t joking. “Anything, i promise”

“Alright, alright. I'm gonna take you upstairs, and if I have a good time this is all yours” Gerard promised, shoving the wallet near the stranger's face “But if I don't have a good time, it's on the house.” He said taking the wallet again. “Are you down?”

“Deal” 

*****  
Gerard was so drunk. He didn’t stop drinking as he started going upstairs. He didn’t stop drinking as Frank started taking his clothes off and started flirting with him. He was far gone. He didn’t remember if he got off or not. He didn’t remember where his shoes went. He was fucked up. And, of course, his wallet was missing.

He remembered seeing Frank naked. He vaguely remembered having Frank on his knees. He remembered going downstairs. He remembered seeing Carlos again. Carl was outside the house, and he was taking his “guests” back to his vehicle. Carlos and Frank were arguing about something. Frank would point at Gerard and Gerard would just smile and nod. He had no clue what was going on. Frank had Gerard’s wallet, and he took all the money out of it and handed it to Carlos. Everything was moving.

Carlos kept shaking his head, refusing to take it. Gerard had already paid him for bringing his “guests” hours ago. He didn’t own him any money. He had no idea what was happening, but he slurred out something like:  
“What’s that? You want more? I’ll fucking… i’ll fucking show you, dude. Let me get to an ATM, i’ll fucking show you, dude. I’ll make you cry about it”

Mikey would have stopped him. Mikey would have taken him back inside the house. Mikey would have said something like “Dad’s gonna kill you. You can’t spend money like that”.

“Gerard, calm down.”  
Carlos said, not taking him seriously. Gerard remember trying to punch him in the face, but Frank was holding him back. He didn’t understand the argument at all, but he was angry for some reason. Probably the booze. Carlos understood that and did not mind. 

Frank was saying something about keeping his customers happy. And he kept trying to give Carl the money. Gerard barely remembered anything Frank had said. After all, Gerard was only a few moments away from passing out.

“Ah, fine.” Carlos had said. “I’ll give you a month. But if you’re serious about it, you’ll have to pay more. _Make me cry about it_.”

Carlos laughed, he didn’t look upset in the slightest. Gerard didn’t remember anything after that. Things were blurry and confusing. Suddenly he was back inside his house. His friends were waving goodbye and he was yelling more stupid shit. Then he was puking. Then everything went blank.

***

It was a beautiful Monday morning in Los Angeles. The weather was sunny. People were heading to work. Young people were heading to school.There were elderly couples going for a jog, walking dogs, feeding pigeons. Everyone was out having a good time. Everyone but Gerard. When Gerard’s mother called him to go out for lunch, he didn’t even flinch. When Mikey texted him asking about his weekend, he didn’t notice either. 

Gerard was hungover and every single part of him hurt. He felt so defeated. He was hiding inside the covers in his bed, trying to get back to sleep. Sadly, his headache and the birds singing outside his window made it impossible. The world was completely against him on that day. It was not a beautiful Monday morning for him at all. He even felt too weak to get up and make some coffee: that was a new low for him. 

He tried remembering what he did on sunday. He remembered making the party. He remembered flirting with a male prostitute. He remembered getting drunk and almost fighting Carlos. Everything else was missing on that monday morning. Did he actually pick a fight with his drug dealer? The one who sold drugs, guns and had control of an entire portion of the city? God, he hoped not. And if he did, he hoped that money could fix it.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had 30 new text messages and 5 missing calls. Nothing from Carl, though. He hoped everything was alright. He had to call him soon to make sure everything was alright.

“Shit”  
He said out loud and threw away the covers. He stretched for a little bit, and tried to ignore the pain that it caused him. He had to get some pills, call mama, call carl, maybe eat eventually. 

Why did he have to throw that stupid party? Mikey was right. Parties were nothing but trouble. Parties meant regretting everything the day after.

“Morning”  
A strange man said, sitting on his bedroom floor. Gerard screamed instantly. He pulled back the covers, as if they were going to protect him. He yelled again, realizing that the man was not a fragment of his imagination. He grabbed his phone and dialed 911, but didn’t press “call” just yet. He was ready to do it, though. Frank was completely calm.

“Look! We don’t have to do this!” Gerard said, showing Frank the screen on his phone. Frank couldn’t read shit. “I have money! I’ll get Carl as much money as i can. No need to do this, man! Carl and I can patch things up!”

He kept showing his phone screen but got no reaction from the stranger.

“No need to, Gerard. He said everything was fine, don’t you remember?”  
The stranger said, without a worry on his head. He was smiling even. 

Everything suddenly clic. The male prostitute. Fred or something. He was still inside the house. Nothing major. He just had to send him back to Carlos. Fred said everything was cool. Not a hitman. Just a hooker. No need to call 911 at all. He locked his phone and threw it back in his bed. Did he sleep with Fred? God, he hoped he used a condom… 

“Oh god. Let me take you home, buddy.” He tried sounding nice, but was too tired and ended up sounding condescending. Finally, he was getting up from his bed “I can’t believe Carlos didn’t pick you up before leaving”

He stretched again before yawning. 

“I’m home”  
Frank was still smiling as he said this, feeling triumphant. Gerard smiled back nervously, having no idea what was going on. He needed a fucking aspirin so badly.

“That’s cute.” Was all that Gerard managed to say. He REALLY hoped he used a condom. The guy had to be insane “But Carl must be looking for ya, we don’t want him to worry, do we?”

He insisted, debating in his head if he should get closer towards Fred. He still didn’t feel safe for some reason.

“You said you wanted a good time” Maybe he did. Gerard’s head was still spinning. He didn’t remember shit. “You wanted to keep me, you gave Carlos the money”

“Keep you how?”  
Gerard asked. He felt a knot in his stomach. He had no recollection of any of that. He knew where Fred was going, but he did not want to hear it. There was no way.

“You know. Like in keeping me! All to yourself” Frank was saying this with excitement, as if they were the best news ever. They were good new to _him_ , but not to Gerard. 

Gerard felt like he was going to pass out. There was no way. He fucking wished he used a condom. And he fucking wished that Carlos took returns. There was no way. If his parents found out, he was dead. God, if his parents found out about all the money he threw away…

Gerard reached for his phone again. He looked through his contacts and found Carl. He quickly sent him a text that read: _u take refunds? right?_. He stared at the screen for a very long time, hoping he would reply quickly. He needed his money back, and he needed to get rid of the stranger. Carlos had to understand, right? Gerard was obviously drunk. He didn’t actually **want** the guy! That was crazy!

No reply. Carlos hadn’t even received the damn message yet.

He threw his phone back to his bed. He looked at the stranger for one second. The guy was still sitting on the floor, but his smile was almost gone. He looked a little scared. They were too many things happening at once. Way too many things to deal with all at once.

Gerard ran towards his bathroom. He didn’t even got to close the door before he was puking all over his sync. He didn’t know if it was the fear, or the hungover, or the bad decisions all mixed together, but he felt terrible all around. He kept puking. After a few minutes, when his stomach was empty, he looked at himself in the mirror. Red eyes, and sweat all around his face.

He went back to puking.

****

The stranger was still on the ground. No smiles now. He was looking at the ground and looked pretty upset. Gerard didn’t know what to say. To him, Fred’s feelings were not a priority. He ignored it and reached for his phone once more. Sitting back at his bed, he looked around his messages. Carlos had replied to his message. He had texted him back: _haha good one. Treat him right, G. have fun_. 

His life was over. No refunds. He went back to the bathroom.


	2. Michael James Doe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehh next chapter is better (i think). i'll probably post it tomorrow around this time. 
> 
> on more important news, my cat looks a little better.

There were many things that Mikey didn't like about Mondays. For one, the traffic was disgusting. People usually weren't in a good mood. There was never something good on tv. And to add insult to injury, on mondays he had lunch with his co workers. On this particular Monday, traffic and people were decent - something very rare for him. It was a good day (for a Monday, at least) till lunch time.

Like in any other Monday, Carol invited him to a restaurant with some of his other co workers. And, like in any other Monday, Mikey only said yes because he didn't want to be a dick. He didn’t have the confidence for it. Plus, Carol and her friends were good people. He couldn’t just say no and eat alone like a loser. Not on a Monday!

But he wished he could eat alone. It wasn’t embarrassing for him, he felt comfortable that way.

Keeping appearances around the office sucked. He did not become an engineer to deal with people. He became an engineer to avoid as many of them as he could. Why didn't the people at the office get that? Eating alone on a Monday morning wasn't going to kill him. There was no need to give him pity.

“I like my apartment. I guess it can wait”  
Carol continued, but Mikey was lost in his own thoughts.

The restaurant was French. Not that it made any difference - they only ever ordered pastries and coffee. It was a place with food and it was close to where they worked: those were the only things that they were looking for. Carol, Bob, Alicia, Mikey and Edwin shared a beige booth table. Mikey liked the people that he was with. Mikey simply didn't feel like talking. Gerard would have understand that.

“What do you think, Mikey?” Edwin asked. He was the oldest person in the group of friends. Everyone in the office liked him. Edwin didn’t talk to Mikey very often. He could also be an asshole at times, but he never meant to. “You've been quiet all morning.”

“Uh,” Mikey looked up. He looked at everyone in the group looking for answers. He had no idea what they were talking about. “I didn’t quite catch what she said”

Great. Now he had to pretend to be engaged in the story. He wanted to grab his phone so badly. He had no one to talk to, but at least he could read his old messages. That was sort of fun, and it was the type of thing he did often. Being part of a real conversation was exhausting to him. Especially if it was a conversation with multiple people who he didn’t know very well. That right there was his personal hell.

“Moving to Highland Park.”  
Bob said really fast. He immediately went back to eating his éclair. He did not seem to enjoy being there either. He was mostly there because he liked the food and that was it.

“Doesn’t your brother live there, Mikey?”  
Alicia wanted to know. Mikey felt even more uncomfortable now. 

There was some silence after that. 

Mikey loved his brother. But talking about Gerard was… dangerous territory for him. His family was well-known - but they weren’t celebrities either. His father, Don Way, was known as the owner of a successful chain of shopping malls. And his son, Gerard Way, was known for trashing houses and wasting money on stupid shit. Every couple of months websites would release articles regarding his “spending habits”. They would dig up silly things, like the fact that he spent an absurd amount of money on some fancy guitar. And then point out that he couldn’t even play said guitar because he was a terrible musician. _How did they even know that?_ Tons of people found those things amusing. Don and Mikey did not. In fact, Mikey felt judged by the mere mention of his brother. 

Sure, everyone in the office knew that he was the son of Don Way. He had no problem with that. If he wasn’t the son of Don Wat he probably wouldn’t have gotten said job in the first place. But if they knew who Gerard was, that meant that they could be the people who read those stupid articles. Amazing pieces of literature like: **“You won’t guess what this spoiled billionaire did for his birthday”** and **“Top 5 worst decisions that Gerard Way made”**. Gerard wasn’t even a billionaire, Don was.

Had he ever mentioned his brother to Alicia? He didn’t remember ever doing that. 

“Hmmm” Mikey looked at his food for a moment. Same old french pastries. He didn’t have any appetite “Yeah. Whatever”

“Gerard, right?”  
Edwin insisted. Mikey didn’t look up. Edwin sounded excited, he had definitely read the articles...

“Yeah.”

“What is he like?”  
Eliza asked. She had a comforting voice, but the question still terrified Mikey. He didn’t want to get in more trouble. Things were already pretty bad in his family at the moment. There was no reason to bring up all of that.

Ever since people started sharing those articles things had been hard. Gerard wasn’t invited to any of the family gatherings or the fancy events. Don made him lay low. But it was always a matter of time. Gerard would always get in trouble again and again. Only two months prior, Gerard had thrown a disastrous party and police had to get involved. That had made Don even more paranoid about his reputation. Mikey couldn’t see Gerard as often anymore. Mikey wasn’t supposed to talk about Gerard to people anymore. 

“I don’t know. Nice. He likes living there”  
Mikey said. He wanted to get back into the office and play music for a while. He felt stressed now.

“Is he still getting in trouble?”  
Edwin asked. It made Mikey want to walk out. He felt stupid. No one wanted him there. Mondays were always terrible.

“No. Not at all. He’s fine”  
Mikey got up.

***

The kitchen was absolutely filthy. There were broken beer bottles, empty bags of chips, and tons of spilled beverages. The place reeked of booze and vomit. There were some broken plates here and there. And, although Gerard hadn’t noticed yet, some asshole broke the light inside his fridge. To any normal person it would be time to clean up. To those two, it was time for breakfast.

“Don’t you wanna go home?”

They were sitting at the dining table. Gerard was drinking coffee after coffee. He still felt dazed. He still hadn’t found his shoes. And he still hadn’t gotten rid of the damn hooker. His morning was worse than usual.

Frank shaked his head. Quickly he went back to eating his cereal. He didn’t like Gerard’s kitchen. The dining table was sticky and bugs would crawl near it. The floor was riddled with trash. That wasn’t anything unusual to Frank, but it was bothering him. He did not want to see the rest of the house.

“Dude, you’re free. You don’t have to stay here”  
Gerard insisted.

“This is where i stay now” Frank stated. “If i leave, he’ll kill me.”  
He went back to eating his cereal. 

It didn't seem like he was kidding. Carl was dangerous. Carl had connections all around the city. You could not fool the guy.Gerard didn’t know what to say, so he took another sip of his coffee. Carlos could kill the guy if he wanted to. He could not argue about that. And how was Gerard supposed to live with that?

“He doesn't have to find out. Just skip town or something”

Frank chuckled sarcastically at that. He had no money. His only job experience was Carlos. He couldn't easily start over. _That's the shit rich people do_. And Frank was not one of them. Gerards comment didn't amuse Frank in the slightest. He kept eating cereal as if nothing hd been said.

Gerard buried his face in his hands. He couldn’t take it anymore. The other man refused to take him seriously. He was not leaving unless cops were involved. And if the cops were involved, Gerard was going down. Don would make him change his name or something. And make him get a job - or worst, go to college. Going through all of that wasn’t worth it. 

There had to be some other way of getting rid of the guy, but had to get more money first. Surely, everything could be fixed with more money.

Gerard pulled his hands away from his face. He took a very deep breath and said:  
“Fine. Just don’t steal shit. I’ll notice. I’ll fucking notice, Fred.”

“Frank”  
The man corrected, promptly smiling earnestly. Gerard liked his smile. He looked cute. Almost child-like. Gerard wasn't going to kick out someone with a face like that! At least not till he had gotten more cash.

“Frank.”  
Gerard repeated, in a quiet voice.

Frank went back to eating his cereal. He was satisfied with the way things were going. He didn't like “morning-Gerard” as much as “drunk-Gerard”, but he could get used to it. It was better than being surrounded by criminals all the time. 

“I think,” Frank said, still chewing some cereal. When he was done he continued: “you made a great decision. Those girls at the party were high maintenance. The bleached hair, the makeup, the surgerys and all that are not cheap.” He stopped for a second before smiling and adding “Meanwhile, i’m gorgeous all year around”

That could have granted him a slap with the wrong person. But Gerard didn't lash out. He could talk as much as he wanted. And to his surprise, Gerard seemed to actually be listening. It was a strange feeling. He wondered if he could get used to it.

“I don’t remember those girls at all.” 

“Even better”  
Frank replied instantly. Gerard smiled, not having anything to add to the conversation. Things weren’t as tense now. And to Frank, Gerard was fun. He wanted to enjoy Gerard’s house as much as he could before leaving.

Frank raised his cereal bowl and drank the leftover milk. Gerard watched with mild amusement. _This_ was the person who was now living with him. The person doing loud noises as he gulped down milk with sugar. Mikey was going to be furious once he found out. When he was done with the milk, Frank threw the cereal bowl back into the dining table. He even did a loud groan once he was finished.

Some of the leftover milk was now dripping down his face. Gerard could not stop staring. It was the best thing that had happened in his entire morning. He was looking at the young man like a piece of meat. He wondered if Frank was clean...

“What do you want to do?”

Gerard took a loud sigh. He wasn’t getting involved into more shit. At least not sober.

“Clean the house.”

***  
It was 7pm. This was supposed to be his favorite part of the day. Leaving work and heading home for the night. Mikey was supposed to be excited about it. And he was supposed to go home and forget about work the way everyone else did. Unfortunately, he was still thinking about lunch. He still felt embarrassed. He didn’t like the idea of his co workers gossiping about his family. They did not know Gerard! They did not get to know if Gerard was still getting in trouble or not.

Don had warned him about false friends. Don had said that there were people trying to get more dirt on Gerard. Don had said that he did not want to see more of those “stories” on the family. Don had told Mikey that he shouldn’t talk about family businesses to outsiders. Don was right about everything.

Did Mikey say too much? Maybe he should have told them that his brother did not live in Highland Park. Maybe he should have said that he didn’t have a brother. Anything to make them stop asking him questions. He shouldn’t have said that his brother was Gerard at all. He had to be careful about his relationships.. All because of those assholes online. God, he hated those fucking vultures. 

He checked his phone for a moment. Gerard had still not texted him in all day. 

Maybe he was fine. Maybe he just got busy. Maybe he was just hanging out with friends! Mikey wanted to believe that those were options. But he knew better. 

****

The house felt like a completely different place. Not only was it clean, it smelled good and suddenly didn’t feel like a nightmare. Some of the furniture was moved and it didn’t look like a gigantic mess anymore. It almost looked like it did when Gerard had first moved in. It was insane what Frank could do with only a couple of hours. And Gerard had helped too. That was a christmas miracle altogether.

Gerard was sitting in his leather couch, watching tv and drinking beer. Frank was in a different couch resting. Gerard had told him that he could sleep in the guest room - but the man had refused. If he left Gerard alone for more than a second, the entire house could light on fire. Or get dirty again. He wasn’t risking either of those things. Plus, he liked Gerard’s company. 

The television was playing some awful horror movie from the early 2000’s. It wasn’t scary, funny or, entertaining in any way. It was also the best thing that Gerard could find.at that hour. The plot was about some teenagers wandering in the woods, and that someone wanted to kill them. The movie wasn’t trying to break down any boundaries in the survivor genre. 

Mikey knocked on the door three times. Then he rang the bell. Then he rang the bell again and again till he got a response. Frank almost got up and opened the door.

“In a minute!”  
Gerard yelled. He took a long taste of his drink before leaving his couch. Frank was still walking towards the door. He didn’t seem to think that he was doing something wrong. Gerard had to fix that.

“Guest room” Gerard said, not loud enough for Mikey to hear. Frank gave him pleading eyes. He was good with guests. People said that all the time! And, he did not want Gerard and his friend to ruin the living room again “Guest room. Guest room now.”

***  
His brother took minutes before opening the door. And when he did, things got weirder. He got inside the house expecting the usual mess after a party. But somehow the house didn’t look like it usually did. It looked clean and like a place where someone could actually live in. It didn’t have Gerard’s signature in it: the whole, “an alcoholic lives here”. It made Mikey feel even more anxious than he was before getting there.

“What is this?”  
He asked, walking around the living room. It looked hygienic. It smelled like cleaning supplies. Mikey could not believe that his brother, the certified pig, had anything to do with it. It had to be some sort of twisted joke.

“I was doing some cleaning--”

“Don’t you lie to me, Gerard. What happened to this place? Did someone lose a bet? Who did you kill?” 

Gerard finished his beer as quickly as he could. He wanted to be wasted before telling the story, but Mikey was not going to allow any of that. And that was unfair.

“Hooker cleaned my house”  
Was all he said. He finished the sentence with a shrug. Then he started walking towards the kitchen as if the conversation was over. Mikey was following him.

“What?” Mikey repeated the question three times more but it had no effect on his brother. “For christ sake, why didn’t you hire a cleaning lady like we told you? Why do you always go for the illegal option, Gee?”

Gerard shrugged again. He opened his fridge. The damn light wasn’t working, but Frank was gonna fix that once Mikey left. He pulled another beer and closed the fridge again. He continued with his story:

“Cause i fucked up.” Gerard opened his beer can, took a drink and then added: “I fucked up really bad. And i can’t get rid of the hooker”

“I don’t understand. You didn’t pay her?”  
Things were sounding even worse now. The story could not possibly end well. Don was going to kill both of them. The people online always found out, and Don was going to find out. Lord, why was Gerard such a mess all the time?

“No, i gave his pimp all my money. That’s the problem.” Mikey looked just as confused as before. “He’s mine now.” Mikey still looked puzzled. “The hooker”

Mikey was speechless. He did understand what Gerard was saying. But he was too disgusted to speak. Maybe all those articles were right. Maybe Gerard was out of control. Mikey didn’t know anymore. He wanted to get home and focus on his job and nothing else. He was done.. 

“Don’t look at me like that. It was an accident!” Gerard said as he went back to the living room. The horror movie was still on. Gerard grabbed the remote and lowered the volume “And i can fix it. I just need more money.”

“You have money! Dad’s always giving you money!”  
Mikey was screaming now. He could not believe that his brother was as stupid as people said he was. He didn’t seem to understand to consequences of what he did at all. But Mikey sure as fuck did.

“Yeah, yeah. But i spent it on the party.” He said, looking at the tv screen. “And the hooker!”

“I’m not helping you get out of this. When Dad finds out about your prostitute, I’m gonna be an only child.”  
Mikey started walking towards the door. Spending more time with Gerard could make him an accomplice. When people found out about Gerard’s latest fuck up, he was not going to be around. Not anymore. Coke and alcohol were fine on his books. Human trafficking was exactly where he drew the line.

“I need money!” Gerard yelled. He turned down the tv and ran towards his brother “I need money!” His brother was already grabbing his car keys. “I’m serious! I need the money!”

Even after Mikey had left, he was still yelling: “I need money”.


	3. Furniture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> took the cat to the vet again. he looks better now! but he's still sick :(
> 
> oh and i wrote this. i'm not sure how i feel about it tbh. i did my best i think. 
> 
> i'm very tired rn. i'm not sure if i'll post tomorrow. but yeah.

Money was never a problem for someone like Gerard. He was 27 years old and _still _received money from his parents every couple of weeks. A job wasn’t a necessity for someone who lived the way he did. People like him never had any “real jobs”. People like him could live the way they wanted without any real repercussions. Money always came back to them one way or the other.__

__Now, Mikey wasn’t like Gerard at all. Mikey wasn’t like the other rich kids in LA that came from successful families. The younger brother made his own money - and he didn’t mind it. He didn’t want to be anyone’s leech. He possessed ambitions, and they did not revolve around working for Don or asking Don for more money. No, Mikey had his own talents and his own goals. Sure, coming from a rich family was definitely something helpful for his career, but that did not make him work any less harder._ _

__That’s why Mikey was at home, sleeping after a long day. He still had to got work the next day like regular people. All while Gerard was awake, drinking on his kitchen floor, and slurring profanities. Gerard had nothing to stop him. In fact, he could still call some of his friends and invite them over. He could destroy the mansion all over again if he wanted to. No one was going to do something about it. He didn’t doubt that Don would fix everything like nothing had happened._ _

__But Gerard didn’t feel like partying anymore. He only wanted to keep drinking. And he did so._ _

__He was mad that Mikey wasn’t on his side. The entire thing had been an accident! Why did Mikey need to get all _ethical_? He needed the money! And he couldn’t ask for Don’s help this one time. Gerard couldn’t believe that his brother didn’t give him the money that could end the problem once and for all. To Gerard, his brother was merely being selfish. At the end of the day, Mikey had money from Don **and** he had money from his job. He could afford spending some of it to help Gerard out! He wasn’t going to go bankrupt over it!_ _

__It was also Don’s fault. Gerard had grown to hate Don. Sure, Don was paying for his house plus his living expenses: Gerard still felt wronged by him. His father always preached him about everything he did. He wanted him to get a job, and worst of all - he kept telling Gerard to go to rehab. And when his son wouldn't listen, he would act as if Gerard was the black sheep in the family. “Why won’t you grow up” he would say after his usual naggings “Why do you do this to us?”._ _

__But to Gerard, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. All his friends in LA lived the way he did. Why did he have to grow up? Some of his friends would get arrested every other day and no one said anything about it. Don had no right to tell him how to life his life. There were plenty of other messes in his neighborhood alone, why did he have to change? Everything was fine. He kept telling himself that things were going fine. Then he would drink some more._ _

__It wasn’t like he actually had wanted to _buy_ Frank! He was drunk and made a mistake. Mikey didn’t have to be such a killjoy about it. And if Don found out… Oh, if he found out…_ _

__*****  
Frank was glad to be in the guest room. The place was already clean, but it could still need some changes. Frank was more than happy to make them. He had confirmed that the bed had nothing but clean sheets. He had moved around a couple of novelty items too - since apparently Gerard loved buying those type of things. All the rooms in the house seemed to have toys, souvenirs and other tacky things that Gerard supposedly liked seeing everyday. _ _

__Paintings also seemed to be one of his favorite things. Even the guest room had multiple of them: and all of them seemed to be made by the same artist. But in Frank’s mind, the paintings only made the room look grim. He took all of them down, then arranged them on the floor. He wanted to keep some of the paintings, but not all. In his mind, Gerard was probably going to welcome the idea. Why wouldn’t he? Frank had shown him how much better his house looked with his help. He didn’t see why Gerard would be against more changes._ _

__Frank crouched on the floor. He was analyzing the dark paintings. Trying to pick the ones that looked the best. If he was being honest: they all looked the same to him. Dark colors all over, and depictions of either sad faces or lonesome landscapes. Those things did not belong in a guest room. It was strange to think that someone could sleep in a room surrounded by those creepy pictures._ _

__He was not ready for when Gerard forced the door open. It caught him completely off guard, making him almost scream._ _

__“What the hell are you doing?” He closed the door loudly, making Frank feel even more agitated. “I told you!” He kept raising his voice as he made his way into the room. “I fucking told you. Don’t touch my things”_ _

__Frank got up gently. He gave a couple of steps backwards, so that he wasn’t so close to the angry drunk man. But Gerard was walking fast towards him, not even flinching when he stepped on one of the paintings for a moment. The drunk man was not content till Frank was backed against the wall, only a few inches away from him._ _

__“I wasn’t-”  
Gerard slapped him across the face. He didn’t want to listen to him anymore. He was mad. And drunk, although not anywhere near as drunk as he had been the day before. To him, he was a just “buzzed” at best._ _

__“That’s mine. All of this is mine! Don’t fucking touch it, Frank. This is not your house. My house!” _Don’s house_ , he thought for a moment. Gerard pulled on Frank’s hair, but the younger man didn’t recoil “I don’t- I swear you and them are trying to ruin me. Always trying to ruin me”_ _

__Gerard shoved Frank’s head against the wall, and then let go off Frank’s hair. This time Frank did seem to wince in pain. The situation wasn’t looking good for him anymore._ _

__The thing was, Gerard wasn’t even mad at Frank at all. He was just mad in **general**. He had no idea where all the anger came from, but it was there. And the last couple of months the feelings had turned worst. The alcohol always exposed it - and it never brought him a solution. Instead, it made him want to get into fights. _ _

__Mikey would always put Gerard back in his place. Mikey always took care of him, made sure that things didn’t turn ugly. And Mikey was now gone - not wanting to help his brother any longer. The only one who was left was Frank. The harlot who was the reason that Mikey was gone in the first place. The train of thought in Gerard’s head was that everything was Frank’s fault. _Probably_._ _

__“It’s your house. I’m sorry”  
Frank said, putting on a smile as if nothing had happened. There wasn’t anything else he could do. Gerard wasn’t the first drunk asshole he had met. On top of that, he certainly wasn’t going to be the last one. None of that was new to him.There was no reason to cause a big scene. Carlos would put him around violent jerks every other night. He wasn’t going to fight back, he knew better than that._ _

__Gerard tried to focus for a second. Things were a little shaky in his head, but he still felt at control of everything. He could mostly stand on his own. He could still slap someone in the face if he wanted to. Also, he sure as fuck wasn’t letting Frank steal his wallet this time. No, no, he wasn’t getting played again._ _

__“-should have known you’d be like this.”  
The man said, frowning. _ _

__

__“I can be good! I can be so good, Gerard. Don’t be mad! I can be good again.”  
Frank kept smiling, hoping that it would have some effect on Gerard. He was very convincing with those things, especially to someone who had been drinking. _ _

__Gerard wasn’t going to refuse something like that._ _

__“I’m not letting you fuck me over this time, you know. You ain’t gettin jack shit from this. Not a single dime.”_ _

__“I don’t mind” Frank smirked. Gerard vaguely remembered the night before, and how Frank had acted the same way. “I like being good to you.”_ _

__It made him angry. Once more, he wasn’t sure as to why. Perhaps it was that the situation felt too familiar to him. Frank just wasn’t as exciting this time around. Not now that he was his unwanted property. Not now that Gerard wished he still had the money from his wallet._ _

__“Shut the fuck up.” Frank stopped smiling. His usual charm didn’t seem to have a response from Gerard “On your knees, before i want to hit you again”_ _

__Frank didn’t have to hear it twice. He did as he was told. Gerard didn’t look very strong, but Frank wanted to be on his good side. If he was on his good side, the month was going to be tolerable for him. Maybe he could get more money from him in the future - there was no need to ruin his chances! Also, Carlos would be disappointed if Gerard complained about Frank’s behaviour. There was no need for any of that._ _

__Gerard looked at him for a while. To him, Frank looked so much better on his knees. The pleading eyes, and the **closed** mouth were way more appealing. He looked so pretty. Gerard considered telling him that, but decided not to. He could keep that to himself. A comment like that would go straight to Frank’s ego: he did not need that. No way. Frank said that he belonged to Gerard - even after Gerard said he didn’t want him. So if that was the case, he didn’t need to treat Frank as anything other than furniture. Why wouldn’t he? Frank was nothing. Just a pretty face. Gerard nodded to himself, too drunk to keep over thinking what he was about to do._ _

__Gerard began unzipping his jeans. His hands were shaking a little. Ultimately, he got his jeans down all the way to his ankles and he did not fall down - which was a huge achievement for drunk him._ _

__“Do you…” Frank started, speaking softly this time around. “Do you want me to enjoy it? Or do you want me to hate it?”  
It was a question that he had to make. Some people wanted Frank to look in pain, some others wanted him to scream their names and what not. It was all a matter of preference. Frank wasn’t sure what the other man wanted from him; not now that he was angry._ _

__On the other hand, Frank’s desires weren’t important for the event. Still, he had to admit to himself that he preferred Gerard back when he called him sugar. Or back when he smiled. Things were fun that way. But he wasn’t going to say that out loud. It was stupid._ _

__“I don’t care. This is not about you”  
Was all that he responded. _ _

__The man was stroking himself a couple of inches away from Frank’s face. After a couple of beers, Gerard often struggled keeping an erection. But not on this day. Not while seeing Frank’s pretty face. Oh, he needed it to be good. He needed to know that Frank wasn’t completely useless. He kept touching himself for a little longer, making the younger man feel uncomfortable._ _

__“C’mon”  
Gerard moved his hand away. He was ready. And this time he wasn’t blacked out drunk, so he wasn’t going to forget so easily about it._ _

__The younger man got closer. Before he did anything, he looked at Gerard’s face, hoping that he would say something else. Anything. But Gerard stayed quiet._ _

__So he continued. At first, he closed his eyes and planted small kisses around Gerard’s shaft. Something that he _actually_ enjoyed doing. When he didn’t seem to get a reaction from Gerard, he moved onto slowly licking his member with his tongue. It was part of the teasing that men usually appreciated. But Gerard didn’t care for it. He pulled on Frank’s hair harder than the last time, making the young man look up._ _

__“You’re boring me”_ _

__Frank understood. He closed his eyes again and hoped that this time he did things right. He wrapped his lips around Gerard’s member, taking as much of him as he could. With his right hand he fondled Gerard’s balls. The drunk man felt overwhelmed for a moment. As Frank continued sucking up and down on his member, Gerard moaned in a very low voice. It was as if he didn’t want to give Frank the satisfaction of hearing it. Frank _had_ heard it. He bobbed his head up and down lazily, hoping that it would be enough. But now Gerard was holding his hair tighter, and he seemed to be trying to get Frank to take more than he could on his mouth. Frank wanted to avoid it._ _

__“Look at me”  
Frank opened his eyes again and looked up. Gerard couldn’t stop looking into his eyes. He still looked so pretty. Oh, that was exactly what the drunk man needed to see. Gerard moaned once more, this time a little louder._ _

__Gerard pulled on Frank’s hair again, this time forcing Frank to go deeper. It felt so much better, and he didn’t want to stop. Meanwhile, Frank felt like he was about to choke at any moment. Then again, maybe that was what the older man wanted. So he allowed Gerard to do it again, and again, and again - hoping that it would make things faster. And every single time Gerard would cry out from the pleasure. It was about _him_. _ _

__When Gerard started bucking his hips, the younger man almost gagged. Frank’s jaw was hurting really bad and his eyes felt watery. All of that didn’t matter, Gerard continued pushing into his mouth and making loud whimpers. But god, he didn’t think he could cum. The alcohol had messed with his body: as usual._ _

__Frank wanted it to end. It wasn’t the first time that Frank had to do something like that - not at all! But it didn’t make it any less painful for him._ _

__Gerard kept shoving his hips against Frank’s mouth. It just felt so much better than he had imagined. The porn simply didn’t do it justice. And seeing Frank’s face made it even more enjoyable. Oh, he was so pretty. His eyes looked red and he was drooling everywhere, but Gerard didn’t mind it one bit. He loved seeing him choke on his cock. It was exactly what he need it to see after a long day. Once Frank started tearing up, Gerard knew he was going to cum soon. Alcohol or not, he had his limits. He could not last long after seeing something like that._ _

__Frank genuinely couldn’t hold back the tears too, although he did not think they would make a difference. But they did. Cause Gerard yelled loudly - feeling his orgasm approaching. He cried a couple times more, all while fucking Frank’s mouth. It was then that Frank realized that he was getting close, and he felt some relief knowing that._ _

__He did not expect what Gerard did next. Gerard grabbed onto Frank’s hair again, only this time it was to push him away. Soon Gerard gave another loud cry, but this time it was because he missed the warmth of Frank’s mouth._ _

__Frank was sweating, his eyes were red, he was covered in drool and he was gasping for air. Gerard could not stand watching it any longer. He gave himself a couple of strokes and finished all over Frank’s face. It was then that Frank finally closed his eyes, letting everything come to an end. He felt Gerard on his chin, on his cheek, and even on his neck._ _

__Gerard groaned, feeling his heart beating faster than normal._ _

__“Hey” He said to Frank, who was still on his knees. The younger man look defeated “Get me a beer would ya? I need a beer”_ _

__“Can i clean this?”  
Frank asked, with genuine concern. _ _

__“Yeah, sure.”  
Gerard pulled his jeans back up. _ _

__It took Frank a few minutes to clean his face in the bathroom. Then, he went for Gerard’s beer. He noticed that the light on the fridge wasn’t working. He imagined that Gerard could fix that once he was sober. He grabbed a beer can anyway._ _

__By the time he was back, Gerard was sleeping on the bed for guests._ _

__Frank slept on the floor._ _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm in college and next week i have like 100000000 things to do. so i'm going to be real busy with all of that. hopefully i'll be free after next friday and start posting again ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ who knows tbh
> 
> woe is me :(

Mikey was in front of a large vending machine. In his right hand he was holding a five dollar bill. 

Spending money on those overpriced machines was something he hated. It was a waste of cash - and he was completely aware of it. Because of this, he was against paying more than five bucks for some of that old junk food. 

But very few things in the machine were less than 10 dollars. So he stayed there for a few minutes; trying to decide what to order. In the end, the choice was either a chocolate bar or a twinkie. To anyone else this would be an easy choice. To anxious Mikey, who lived in his stressed out brain, it was a critical decision that he couldn’t make. He would pick something, immediately regret it, then would consider everything again.

He was so caught up on the vending machine he didn't notice Bob passing by. Nor did he realize that Bob stopped next to him, trying to start a conversation.

“Mike” He said, making Mikey almost drop his five dollar bill. He had no idea that Bryar had been watching him. “I’m sorry for what happened”

It was shocking for Mikey. He had been working there for two years, yet he didn’t think that his coworkers liked him. Let alone _care_ about him. Additionally to this, he had not expected an apology from Bob of all people. The guy didn’t even say something wrong - he had no reason to feel guilt at all.

“It’s okay” Mikey then laughed nervously, as he did sometimes during his panic attacks.”It's totally cool, nothing to apologize for”  
He hoped that it was enough to make Bob start walking away. It was not.

“I was just there for the cookies, man. I didn't think they would mess with your family like that. That wasn't cool”  
Bob continued, as if Mikey hadn't said anything. 

Bob wasn't someone internet savvy at all. He had never stumbled across articles about Gerard - ever. He didn't want to learn about him either. It was none of his business. If Mikey didn’t talk about Gerard maybe it was for a personal reason. He frankly didn't understand why his coworkers would care about the guy. Gerard didn't work at the office - Mikey did. And Mikey clearly didn't want to talk about it.

It felt like bullying.

“It's all good. ”  
He said, nodding to himself. Things weren’t good at all. Ever since that last lunch, he suspected that all his coworkers made fun of him and his brother when he wasn’t around. Meanwhile, his brother was in a huge mess that could potentially ruin his family. Things were so bad.

“Let me invite you lunch.”  
Bob said. He still felt bad. He didn't want Mikey to have hard feelings about it. Mikey didn't seem to have a lot of friends in the office, why make things worst for the guy? It was mean. Probably hurtful for him too.

“Don’t! I was just gonna order a twinkie.”  
He pointed at the machine.

“Let's eat together then”  
Bob insisted. He wasn't enthusiastic about it, but he felt that he he to ask. His mother had raised him like that. If someone was having a hard time, he had to try to help them. Even if he couldn’t help much to begin with.

“Sure”  
Mikey pressed some of the buttons in the vending machine, picking the small pastry. He couldn't tell if Bob was doing it out of pity or not, but he didn't care anymore. There was no reason to be rude to the guy who wanted to comfort him. Plus, he was still mad at Gerard, so he had no one else to talk to. Maybe talking to Bob would distract him. Maybe. But probably not.

*** 

They were having breakfast together, as if nothing had happened. Frank thought it was for the best. He feared that acting distant would make Gerard feel offended. He did not need any more drunk-angry-Gerard in his life. It was best to pretend that things were fine. Putting on a smile and eating breakfast was the safest thing he could do.

Gerard remembered most of it - he didn’t want to talk about it either. 

“What do you do?”  
The younger man asked. They had been silent for a long time, so it caught Gerard off guard.

“Hmmm”  
The man kept eating, not even bothering to look away from his food. What was he supposed to say? 

“You didn’t go out yesterday. It doesn’t look like you’re going out today either”  
Frank tried again. It was obvious that Gerard was well-off. He had to be making money someway. Unemployed people didn’t usually live in mansions, let alone throw parties with expensive prostitutes.

“I don’t have to.” He stopped for a couple of seconds, thinking on what to say next “I’m an artist, so i work when i feel like it”  
He didn’t know if that sounded convincing or not. It was just what he wanted to say. What he wanted to be true.

“Oh” Frank wanted to mention the paintings in the house, but he feared that it would make Gerard upset again. _Maybe some other time_. “Are you like... a big deal? Like… some hotshot artist or something?”

Gerard wasn’t sure if it that was some naive question or if the other man was simply mocking him. So he looked at the other man’s face, trying to identify his intentions. All that Gerard saw was that the younger man was smiling - and that he looked sincere. 

“I mean…” Gerard started, before making a loud sigh. “I guess. I don’t know.” Frank was still smiling. “I- I haven’t really done much of anything in some time. I’ve been so busy with--” the man took some time before adding “life. Life and what not.”

“I get it”   
Frank smiled, then took another bite of his cereal. 

Gerard didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t _really_ an artist. Years ago, he had been in a few art exhibitions here and there. He also had managed to sell a couple of paintings. But that was years ago: when he was 22 or so. Things had changed. He wasn’t involved in that scene anymore. As the years had gone by he just stopped caring about all of that. He still sketched often - he never finished any of his works though. There was no reason to. 

He was no “big deal” in the art community. He was an oddity at best. People would write articles like **“10 people you didn’t know were painters (SHOCKING RESULTS)”** then mention Gerard’s work, along with the work of Adolf Hitler and Jim Carrey. Not particularly something to be proud of. It was amusing at best. Hardly something that New York’s art community cared about.

But Frank didn’t know about any of that. To him, Gerard had to be a big deal. How else was he paying for his gigantic house? Plus, Gerard looked like the stereotypical art guy too. The alcohol problems, the lack of hygiene, the unexpected douchebag behavior - it was all there! It sounded very real to him. 

Gerard studied Frank. The younger man was eating his cereal awfully fast, just as he had been the day before. He looked fine. He didn’t look upset about what had happened. Gerard wondered if he understood that it was the _alcohol's fault_ , **not** _Gerard’s fault_. He hoped he did. The only reminder of Gerard’s tantrum was a stain in Frank’s suit jacket. It was small, but once he noticed it he couldn't stop staring at it. 

“Your clothes are dirty”

“I don't have anything else to wear. Unless you wanna go shopping”   
He was smiling again, hoping that Gerard would agree. Gerard had money. Gerard was important. Frank wanted to know what it was like going out with someone like that. Sure, Carlos was a big deal too - but he was a drug dealer. Gerard was a famous artist. It was a different league entirely.

“Nah”  
Gerard stopped looking at the jacket. He didn't have the money for it. And he was not using his credit cards either - not after Don had said that he wasn't helping him pay them anymore. ‘You need to be careful with your expenses’ he had said. And he had been right.

“It’ll be fun”   
Frank was excited now. He wanted to see the rich parts of LA. He wanted to know what it felt like to buy outrageous things. Almost all the money he made went to Carlos, so he never enjoyed it. But Gerard looked like the type of guy who had tons of money to enjoy. 

“Nah. It's gonna take all day. Fuck that”  
Gerard was avoiding Frank’s gaze now. He was not going to admit that he didn't have money for that. There was no way. It was too embarrassing for him. His only way of getting more money was talking to Don - that was not going to happen either.

“I’ll just grab whatever fits me!” 

“I said no. You gotta clean the house”  
The man said, he was grasping at straws by that point. 

“The house is fine.” Gerard looked at him again. He wanted to tell him he was being a brat, but Frank was doing those pleading eyes once more. Oh lord, did he like those pleading eyes. “I wanna go out”

Gerard consider it for a second. Frank going out with that stain on his jacket? _Fuck. Maybe._ Maybe if he called Mikey-

“Well, I don’t. We’re not going anywhere” He was speaking louder now. “Were you like this with Carlos too?”

“Sometimes. I like being spoiled”  
Frank tried again, this time he was smirking. Gerard hated that so much: because it was completely working. How could he say no to that? Frank was the cutest thing in the world. Course that he wanted to spoil him. Especially after last night. He had been amazing. How could he say no? 

_Because i’m fucking broke._

“You’re with the wrong guy then”  
He said, trying his hardest to sound enraged.

They stayed silent after that. Frank went back to eating his cereal. He wondered if Gerard would say the same thing after a few beers. Gerard was simply not as charming now that he didn’t throw money at his face. It made the younger man feel a little hurt too - like he wasn’t good enough for that anymore. 

The issue made Gerard reevaluate the entire situation all over again. There had to be something he could do. Begging Mikey for help didn’t work. Begging Don wouldn’t work either. His “friends” wouldn’t help either. The only person left who would help him with money was his mother. And Gerard was **terrible** at lying to her. 

He grabbed his phone and looked for her number.

***


	5. Friday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might start posting more often now. idk. maybe? idk. 
> 
> anyways heres another chapter for no reason.

Friday was an important day. It marked the fifth day of living with Frank. An accomplishment really - considering that things were still pretty strange between the two. Friday was also the day Frank was going to meet Donna. 

Gerard was not looking forward for friday to come. So when he woke up that morning, the first thing he did was taking a deep breath, and he wished that the day would come to an end already.

Two days prior to the meeting, Gerard had a long conversation with his mother on the phone. He had told Donna lots of good things. He told her that he had been trying to get clean. He told her that he wanted to get back to painting. Real fairytale stuff. Most importantly, he had told her about his new “boyfriend” - saying they had been together for the past month or so. 

Those were all things that Donna wanted to hear, but she didn’t believe him. Even through the phone she could tell there was something fishy about the news. She was suspicious that it was some new scheme to ask for money. She was also very right. So she had asked to meet Gerard’s new boyfriend. To her surprise, Gerard told her that he was free on friday.

They were supposed to meet at Donna’s house. The meeting was going to be during the early afternoon, all before Don came back from work. Don being gone was crucial to Gerard’s plan. The reason for that: Don was too smart to fall for his antics. He was done with Gerard’s behavior in general. So, he had to be far gone.

At the time, he felt comfortable that things could work out. Now that it was friday, Gerard wanted to call the whole thing out. He didn’t think his plan would work anymore, not on someone like Donna. It was ridiculous. A fake boyfriend had to be his most pathetic lie in existence. 

But he needed to at least _try it_. It was all he had left. Even if Donna realized that the whole thing was a scam, what was she going to do? Call Don? No, she would give Gerard a nagging then forget about it, as she usually did. She wouldn’t take the whole thing to his father. No one wanted to see Don and Gerard in the same room.

“Do you speak any italian, Frank? She’d like that”  
Frank was still adjusting his clothes. He was in front of the mirror looking at his outfit. He was wearing some old clothes that Gerard had borrowed him. Surprising no one, they didn’t fit him at all. His clothes looked baggy and awkward on Frank. 

Frank wondered if it was some sort of punishment. Some intricate power move from his new boss. That, for some manipulative reason, Gerard was making him look bad on purpose. He could not think of another reason as to why the rich man wouldn’t just buy him new clothes and move on. 

“Uh, not really. I mean, i can say hello and goodbye i guess…”  
Frank was already nervous knowing he was going to meet Gerard’s mother, he did not need to add italian in the mix. Sure, he took some classes when he was younger but that didn’t mean he was any good. He stopped taking italian classes for a reason. 

“That will do.”  
He was confident in that. Donna did not know any italian. She had pride in her italian heritage: she would tell everyone about it! But she had no interest in learning the language herself. She was not going to be able to tell if Frank was terrible.

“What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Huh?”  
Gerard pretended to be shocked by the question. In reality, he had contemplated that thought plenty of times. 

“What if she buys that i’m dating you, but doesn’t like me? What happens then?”

“She’ll like you! You’re italian, you can cook, you’re cute. She’ll be head over heels for you. She’s not gonna know. You look nice! C’mon.”  
Frank sighed. He didn’t feel like any of that. He was a 22 year old male prostitute. He felt barely human at times. 

“I don’t think she’ll like me” Frank glanced at the mirror again. Gerard’s clothes still looked strange on him. There wasn’t anything he could do “Moms see right through bullshit”

Gerard agreed in his head. Dealing with a disappointed mother was the worst punishment a person could get. But instead he said:  
“You'll be fine”

Silence. The clothes weren’t going to look any better. The chances of the plan working were still very slim. The day was still far from over. The light inside the refrigerator was still very broken. Both men feared that things weren’t going to get any better soon. 

“You know” He started “This is not what I had expected. I thought you’d be throwing parties every day.” He was being honest. He also hoped that he wasn’t making Gerard angry “But instead you got me meeting your mother. That’s a first”

“At least you get to go out”  
Gerard was quick to point out. The past days they had been watching horror movies almost non stop. Really, It was the easiest way to entertain Frank without money. But he knew that Frank probably still preferred going out.

“Yeah, but-” The young man stopped himself before finishing the sentence. He wasn’t sure if he should continue “Like, next time- Maybe, just take me to dinner”

*****  
By two in the afternoon things seemed to be going fine. Better than everyone had expected, at the very least. 

Things had started a little awkward, but it got better as the time went by. Donna had made them some snacks. She was very pleased to see the young man eating really fast, as if it was the best food he had ever tasted. She was no cook by any means, but Frank had repeatedly given her compliments about the easy food she made. Then he had mentioned his interest in italian cuisine - that’s when he truly got her attention. In a good way.

Frank and Donna were the ones doing most of the talking during the visit. The conversation mostly went on about italian heritage, cooking, and (somehow) gardening. Things that the Donna’s son didn’t care about. In fact, Gerard had spent almost the entirety of the meeting quiet, merely looking at the two interact. He was terrified of fucking up the whole thing by saying something wrong. Things were going good. 

Donna didn’t think much of it - she was assuming that he was nervous about introducing his first boyfriend to her. ~~Course he’s a little nervous~~ , Donna kept telling herself.

Gerard had flings with men before - but he had never mentioned it to his parents. To their knowledge, Gerard’s last relationship was with some hairdresser girl three years back. They were never informed about Gerard’s bisexuality or his promiscuous behavior. Of course, there were some articles and some rumors here and there. But they always refused to take those things seriously.

“I’m in between jobs”  
Frank said after Donna asked about his career. It was the best excuse he could come up with in the spot. 

“Ah, Gerard knows all about that”  
She wasn’t mad. The only reason she jokes about it was because she hoped it would help his son join the conversation. It did not. It barely cracked a smile on his face. Frank forced a laugh. 

Frank did not enjoy Gerard’s silence either. It was frustrating having to do all the work by himself. It was unfair - it was not what they had agreed to either! He had to keep the plan going while the other man didn’t help in the slightest. Sadly, he wasn’t sure if he should push Gerard into the conversation. If things went south, all the blame was going to fall right on him.

“I mean- he’s a real talented artist” Frank said. He had no idea if what he said was true or not. Still, he guessed that as his _boyfriend_ that’s what he needed to say “I’m sure things will get better for him soon”

Gerard had to get his part of the plan going. It was time. He came to Donna’s house knowing what to do. He knew the right lies to use. There was no reason to stop now. If he didn’t try it, the whole thing would be a huge waste of time.

“Actually,” He responded, immediately getting their attention. It was the right moment “I’m already working on something. I’ve been calling Ray. You remember Ray, ma?” She nodded, liking where the conversation was heading to. “Yeah, he says he can help me with my new project.”

“That’s wonderful.”  
She was smiling. Gerard getting back into the art world was a good thing - but also very unlikely.

 

“I know.” He kept going, “The only issue right now is with the cost and all that.”

“Yeah”  
She knew what he wanted. It did not make her feel good. It made her feel like she had wasted the entire afternoon.

“Like, buying the material,” He continued, Donna kept nodding “the cost of being in one of those fancy galleries,” he added “getting the show some publicity, all those things. Expensive stuff”

“Yeah. Well, you have my blessings”  
Donna smiled. 

Gerard wasn’t sure if that was it. If that was it, he was fucked. He was getting no money. All he got out of his _new boyfriend_ \+ his _new project_ was a god damn blessing? No. There had to be more! He knew he shouldn’t say anything back, but he was getting angry now. He felt that his family was being so selfish. Why wouldn’t they help him anymore? He was still part of the family! The party wasn’t even that big of a deal! He made worst decisions every other week!

Frank did not understand the tension in the living room. To him, Gerard seemed to be doing fine financially; there was no need to complain to his mother about expenses. Things had been going so good before he mentioned that. Now the room felt different All because of some ungraceful remark. Suddenly he wished Gerard had not talked at all.

“Maybe when Frank finds a new job he can help you”  
Gerard felt that she was being condescending. Everyone smiled, all for very different reasons.

“Absolutely”  
Frank said enthusiastically, as if there was any truth in the statement. There was no reason to stop the act, things had gone a little sour but they could be fixed.

“Course”  
They were sitting in the living room’s couch together, looking like a real couple. Gerard placed his hand on top of Frank’s. He was doing it in the hopes that it would make their relationship seem more authentic. 

It was unexpected for Frank: it made him feel weird. But good. It did feel very good.

“My little artist”  
He gave the other man a quick kiss on his cheek. He did for his own amusement, really. It felt just as good.

Donna looked at the two for a moment. It didn’t look phony to her. And if the whole thing wasn’t a scam, how could she say no? Frank looked like a great kid. Too good for Gerard even, if she was being honest. Art kept Gerard busy - that meant less chances of him fucking up.

But she had promised Don that she wouldn’t borrow Gerard money till he “got his shit together”. Was a boyfriend and a few ideas for paintings enough? It was hard to tell. Knowing Gerard, he could forget about both in a matter of weeks. Donna really did not want that to happen.

Both men did look happy together. Gerard’s boyfriend seemed perfect for him. Donna didn’t want things to go bad again. She certainly didn’t want Gerard to go back to dating spoiled LA girls. This new guy was italian, and catholic - the most important aspects of Donna’s life.

“I’ll tell Don about it” That was a lie. She was going to use her own money as usual “Maybe we could help with something”

Relationships were expensive. Art was expensive too. She understood. 

Gerard felt immediately relieved. He had heard that phrase many times before. Donna had bought it. He could get back to his life now. He could get more coke, more booze, maybe throw a couple more parties -

“You shouldn’t!”  
Frank said with complete confidence. The plan he was told about was to simply “be as nice to Donna as possible”, so he was going to keep it going.

“I want to”  
She said trying his best to smile. She still didn’t know if she was doing the right thing. Well, she hoped she was. Throwing money at his son was still the only solution she had. It was what he wanted anyways.

“I’m serious, we’ll be fine”

 

Frank felt Gerard grab his hand tighter now, to the point where it was painful. He knew he had fucked up. All those good feelings in his stomach went away. 

“Sugar, don’t talk back to her like that”  
Gerard was smiling as he said this, but Frank knew he was angry. It was hard to ignore it too, because he was making his hand hurt really badly.

“My bad” The pain stopped “The more help the better”

****


	6. Real

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last month i got really bummed out about something really dumb...so i didn't feel like fixing my drafts -> had nothing to post. anyways... i wanted to post again idk. i might edit some of this chapter later tho... im sorry if anyone was enjoying this and saw that i randomly stopped updating... wasn't my intention. i felt really down & unmotivated tbh... hopefully someone is still reading this lol :')

Michael was spending his break with Bob. 

The two of them were outside their office building. Bob was smoking a cigarette while Mikey went on one of his rants. As quiet as the guy had seemed, he definitely liked talking. Bob would nod every couple of seconds, engage only with some of it. He could tell that Mikey was just venting stuff - and that was fine. Bob enjoyed listening. Bob liked cigarettes way more than talking.

Their conversations didn’t feel forced now. The two of them actually had things to talk about. They shared enough similar interests to keep themselves entertained. Even though Mikey did most of the talking, Bob didn’t feel left out. It was the type of friendship that Michael had been waiting for years. 

It wasn’t nearly as fun as talking to Gerard though.

“As soon as i walked past his cubicle - i don’t know. He had this look on his face...” He was referring to one of his coworkers “And I wanted to throw up. Like i get it! I know when people don’t like me. It's just, i feel like the entire office really fucking hates me. I feel it.”

Pretty much any other grown adult wouldn’t have noticed what happened. But Mikey always noticed small shit like that. It went straight to his head. That entire day he had replayed the guy’s face over and over again.

“We like you, man. You’re just so- i don’t know. Reserved.”  
Bob was being honest there. Mikey didn’t took him seriously though. He was too busy in his own thoughts. He still had more to complain about.

“I’m not though. Everyone seems to get along with each other but me”  
He finally said. 

Bob sighed. He tossed his cigarette on the ground, to then step on it. Bob was trying to think of a way to respond Mikey’s allegation. He understood exactly why most of the office avoided contact with him. It wasn’t because they were assholes: at least not all of them. It had a lot to do with Mikey’s attitude too...

“I mean, we did try to hang out with you all the time. We invited you to every reunion. There wasn’t really anything against you” Mikey wanted to interrupt him, but Bob kept going “It always looked like you were in a bad mood whenever we were around you.”

“Cause i didn’t feel welcomed.” He immediately responded as if it was something that should have been obvious “Cause like - i can tell, man. When people don’t like me. They try to be nice to me i guess - but they don’t want to know me at all”

Bob sighed again. Somehow all of Mikey’s rant always ended with how everything and everyone was against him. The poor guy probably didn’t notice it at all. Should _he_ be the one to point it out? No way. The conversation needed to go somewhere else. ASAP.

“I like you.“  
Bob said. He was half joking, but his face was completely serious.

“Thanks”  
It was clear that he was not satisfied with the responses yet. He merely smiled for a second or two. Then he stayed silent, still thinking about the guy in the cubicle who looked at him wrong.

“Alicia likes you too. And Jerry, i guess. Hell, Carol likes you, she likes everybody”

“Alicia?”  
Was the only part that he seemed to like.

“I mean, i guess. She asked about you sometimes.” Bob looked at the buildings around them. For whatever reason he had the impression that Alicia liked Mikey a lot. He wasn’t quite sure why though. He just felt it. There was no reason to get his hopes up “Seemed pretty adamant on keep inviting you to things and what not. That’s all”

“Do you think she…?”  
Mikey got closer to him, which Bob did not appreciate.

“Oh god, i don’t fucking know” He took a pause. When Mikey didn’t say anything more he went “You should talk to her”

“Yeah”  
Mikey nodded to himself. Bob didn’t know about Mikey’s failed attempts with women. The constant rejection, the fake numbers, the laughter… He wasn’t sure that he could even talk about that. His heart hurt simply thinking about it. 

The weather that day was pretty bad. Dark clouds, and a terrible wind. Mikey’s hands were shaking, but Bob could tell that it had nothing to do with the cold. But boy, did he wish it was just the weather. 

“What if she… she asks about the Gerard stuff? I wouldn’t know what to say.”

“Tell her to go fuck herself”  
Bob replied with his usual blank expression. It was hard to tell if it was a joke or not. And as usual: It wasn’t.

“Do you think that- she would like me more if i talked about Gerard?” Mikey was getting nervous “Cause i know more than enough about him. Maybe that’s why she kept asking about me? I mean i guess i could tell her _some_ stuff. It wouldn’t be so bad, right?”

“You don’t need to do all that. Talk to her and that’s it. You don’t need fucking - leverage and shit”  
His friend quickly replied. Then he sighed again. Bob looked at the cars passing by, trying to focus on something other than Mikey.

“I mean i guess i could try to talk to her. Like, next week or something.”  
Mikey shrugged.

“Try today”  
Bob insisted. He was still not looking at him. 

“Next week.”

_Sure. Sure_. 

***

By the time they got home, things were different. There was no small chat during the car drive. There were no comments as they made their way into the living room. And there wasn’t any snarky comment when Gerard laid in the couch and turned on the tv. What happened with Donna was _weird_. Weirder than they had both expected.

Frank sat on a different couch. He was staring at Gerard, hoping that he would say something. The man didn’t. He changed the channels with an empty expression. Too invested in the programming to notice Frank’s gaze.

It felt weird knowing that he was going to spend the rest of the month with him. Gerard wasn’t the rich asshole throwing money around that he had expected. He was a well-off asshole with a love for art. He lacked hygiene, a job, and didn’t seem to have any friends. To top it all of, he was a man nearly 30 years old who still lied to his mother. 

But Frank wasn’t bothered by any of that. At least he wasn’t predictable. Or ugly...

“You’ve seen this?” Gerard said, suddenly turning to Frank. He was referring to a horror film that the television was playing. “Its god awful.”

Frank turned to the screen for a second. The movie was showing a couple of friends talking inside a van. It seemed to be from the early 2000s. The actors seemed to be in their late twenties, but they were dressed like teenagers. None of the actors looked familiar to him. In fact, Frank didn’t recognise the film at all. If he was honest, he wasn’t a huge fan of horror in general. 

Gerard didn’t need to know that though: Horror films seemed to be his expertise.

“No.”

“Oh god, you have to see this.” He started making the volume louder. Before going back to looking at the screen he said, “Worst actors ever”

Frank tried to pay attention to the movie. As usual, his mind eventually went back to Gerard. He liked living in Gerard’s house. He liked watching the shitty horror movies - with Gerard, at least. He liked not having to work every night. He liked _Donna_. For whatever reason he had genuinely enjoyed talking to that woman. She reminded him of his own mother. Donna was nice.

And he liked Gerard. A little. He liked the Gerard that he met at Donna’s house. The one who wouldn’t stop talking about his next art project and who kept grinning at him. That was fun. He liked the hand holding. And the pet names. And the smiling. And the kiss too. 

“What's the matter with you?” The older man asked. Frank had not laughed or flinched at all. The entire time he had been silently staring at the screen. It was as if he was watching a different movie. “Do you wanna sit with me? You can do that if you want. This couch is way better”

Gerard motioned to the seat next to him in the couch. At first, the young man didn’t want to move. But when he saw how serious Gerard looked, he did as he was told. Now he was right next to him. He wished he wasn’t. He needed some time to just _think_. Maybe go to bed and forget about the whole event.

The movie kept going. Some girl was kidnapped in a basement. Some evil man was about to torture her. Frank quickly lost interest again. It felt like a cheap movie he had already seen before. It was crass, silly and fucking _predictable_.

Gerard was far from perfect. He had to admit that for sure. But he was so much better than the men he usually had to deal with. Things could be fun with Gerard. Frank wondered if Gerard realized how much fun he had with Donna and the _talented artist_. Did Gerard have fun too? Or was it all part of the act? 

“She’s so fucking bad”  
The man said. He was talking about the actress in the film. It was a young model that they had casted for the lead role. The actress was screaming hysterically during the scene they were watching. And she did sound ridiculous. Frank barely hummed in agreement.

“What? That’s like, the funniest thing. Whats with the attitude?”  
It was clear that Frank wasn’t paying any attention to the movie. His mind was elsewhere. It made Gerard feel a little embarrassed for suggesting watching it.

“don’t you want to do...something else?”

“Uh?”  
The man sounded annoyed already. He was very much enjoying watching that movie for the 30th time. He could give a damn lecture on the camp that The Teenage Murder Suicide 8had, if he wanted to. Mikey would totally get it. Why didn’t Frank get it? It was pure comedy. 

“like… maybe work on that project of yours?”  
He hoped that bringing it up again would make Gerard excited. Sadly, the project did not exist. And it was not going to exist any time soon.

“ _That_ is none of your fucking business.” _That_ was not something he wanted to think about. What was he supposed to tell his mother in six months when there was no art exhibit? Anything else was better than thinking about that. “You wanna do something else? uh?”

Frank nodded. He could tell that Gerard was upset now. If he dared saying no, it would just hurt his ego. That could end up in more pain. 

Gerard stroked himself through his jeans then looked at Frank with a grin. It was only to remind Frank of what had happened a few days prior. He merely wanted to get a reaction from him. Make him uncomfortable. Maybe get an insult from it. But the younger man didn’t recoil. Frank was not scared of having to give a sloppy blowjob. He didn’t mind. 

Gerard was still expecting the younger man to say something back. Something snarky that would piss him off. Something that would give him an excuse to slap him. But Frank didn’t say anything. He was looking right back into Gerard’s eyes. He was _willing_. It made Gerard uneasy. The grin was gone.

The movie kept going. Now, the inept actors were running for their lives and wacky music was playing. Gerard went back to looking at the screen immediately. It was a scene that he recognized very well. That awful music was ingrained in his brain. 

“I had fun today, you know”  
Frank got closer; trying to get Gerard’s attention back. He was trying his best to smile. After all, he still wanted him to be in a good mood. 

“You’re not getting anything out of _that_ shit.”  
He did not like the way Frank was acting. The younger man was acting as if he actually liked him. As if they were still in Donna’s house. As if they actually liked _each other_. It was weird. 

Gerard did not actually wantsome dumb italian boyfriend. He wanted casual encounters and maybe a _maid_ , really. Once the month was over, would he care about Frank? At all? No. My would he? If he was completely honest, the only reason he hadn’t kicked out Frank was because he found him attractive. And he liked having company. That was it though.

Frank was making things too weird for him. Christ, Donna liked him! Donna didn’t like anyone! Living with a stranger was awkward enough. Now he had to deal with a stranger that Donna liked. And to make things worse, a stranger who was cute. A stranger who was very much flirting with him at the moment. It was too much pressure. He just wanted to watch the damn movie. 

“I’m serious”  
Frank was even closer to Gerard’s face now. They were only a few inches away from each other. 

“Don’t do all that.”  
Something about Frank’s attitude was making him feel wary. And nervous. Real fucking nervous. He wasn’t sure if Frank was faking it anymore. That was a scary thing. 

Frank’s hands traveled through Gerard’s leg. He stopped right before getting along his crotch. He was still smiling, but the other man wasn’t. It felt good, but Gerard wasn’t going to admit it. Frank could not be the one in control. It wasn’t his house. Gerard wasn’t his toy. Or his boyfriend, or whatever was going through his head.

“Can i kiss you?”

“No fucking way! What's wrong with you? You want me to slap you? Uh?” Frank’s smile went away. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear at all “Stop talking”

The interaction made Frank realize something. 

Gerard didn’t like _him_. In a way, it was for the best. There was no reason to get overly attached to each other… He was still getting rid of Frank sooner or later. It was good that Donna liked him, but that didn’t mean he was going to keep him. There was no way in hell.

The horror movie was still going, and Gerard was still the only one enjoying it. 

Frank was staring at Gerard’s jeans. He wanted to get his attention again. He knew how to make men feel good. Why didn’t the other man realize that? Did the alcohol make him forget it? Frank got even closer. He ran his hand through Gerard's thigh. He tried giving the best smile he could. But Gerard didn't smile back; he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Frank’s movements made Gerard feel dizzy. He had never been with a man _sober_. It was fucking weird. He was so nervous he felt like he was going to pass out. Gerard didn’t know if he should hit him. Or run away. Or make him keep going. All those possibilities sounded right.

He closed his eyes for a moment to think. 

There was no way he was going to get played by a hooker. 

“God, you can’t even get me hard.” He talked way louder and angrier than he should have, making Frank scared “Just fucking leave it. Okay? You’re creeping me out”

“Gerard, let me try”

“No! Leave it” Gerard pushed away the younger man. Frank looked surprised - but mostly, sad. “Let me watch the movie.”

He grabbed the control remote to make the volume on the television even louder. The movie wasn’t over and some of the “best” scenes hadn’t happened yet.

“I’m just- I’m just doing my best here, you know? Don’t be mad at me”

“Forget it. Forget _all_ of it.” 

He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He didn’t want to think about Frank’s hand. Or his smile. He didn’t want to think about getting rid of him. He didn’t want to think about Donna. Or that stupid art project. He didn’t want to think about his sexuality. He didn’t want to think about Frank’s feelings. He didn’t want to know if Frank was being flirty for more money. He didn’t want to know if Frank was being flirty because he actually liked him. All of that was fucking stressful. He wanted a beer - and more than anything in the world, he wanted to watch that shitty movie in peace.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...i’ve been working on a story to post for halloween. It has supernatural elements and its super silly? Idk. but that story is taking most of my free time. (And im already busy enough with college (-﹏-。) ) so i haven’t been able to write more of my other fics… guess i’ll have to go on a hiatus till i’m done with the halloween one? Idk no idea when i’ll get to update things. I could maybe start posting more in mid september? Well, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3abPnEEGE

By Sunday, Gerard was exactly where he had been the past week.

He was drinking, throwing beer cans on the floor and watching Frank from the distance. Things weren’t any better (or any worse, for that matter). They were just the same. 

This time around he had invited some of his old friends. People that he didn’t like at all: but he prefered when the house felt crowded. Shitty parties and shitty friends were the things he was used to. It felt natural for him, it was what he knew.

If he was being honest, he liked things that way. Even now that he was getting older he still didn’t want things to change. What was he supposed to do instead? Get a job? A wife? Have kids? Those things were for the _normal_ folk. Folk that had no other choice. People like Gerard always had plenty of choices. There was no reason to quit the partying or the drinking - ever. 

This time he also invited girls to the party. And not the kinds of girls that Carlos brought. He invited the stereotypical LA brats. The girls that were loud, loved to get drunk, and would show up to _any_ party. The absolute worst kinds of train wrecks. 

Frank didn’t like them. Then again, he didn’t like anyone in the party either. He didn’t seem to be having a good time. But the party wasn’t for _him_ to enjoy. He was there to stand, look good, and maybe give Gerard flirty looks. Nothing else; he was merely part of the background. Gerard watched him, but didn’t try to approach him.

The younger man stayed in a corner watching everyone with discontent. He was tired, hungry, and worst of all b o r e d . 

It was a strange thing for Gerard. He had bought Frank some new clothes - nice clean jeans, a shirt with a band that _Gerard_ liked. He had bought tons of booze into the house. He had thrown a cool party to have fun. Why did Frank have to such a fucking killjoy? Was it because he wasn’t getting paid? Why couldn’t he just smile and look pretty?

Way didn’t want to acknowledge it. Frank clearly wanted the attention and he wasn’t going to give in. Instead, he took another taste of his beer. He watched as the people he invited danced with each other. He wasn’t going to join them anytime soon though. His drink was more important. 

They were playing loud rap music in his speakers. Gerard hated both dancing _and_ rap music. But it didn't bother him at the time. He liked having some background noise while he got drunk. Plus, it helped him ignore the drunk girls screaming at each other. It helped him focus on his drink. It helped his mind drift off. It helped him forget about Frank’s presence. 

He was only there to get drunk and forget about his problems. Nothing else. In his house, parties did not have any other purpose.

*****  
He spent most of the night in the kitchen floor. That's where they kept the booze, so it was the only place he wanted to be in. 

His fridge was stacked full of liquor. His so-called friends had also brought coolers with more alcohol. And to make things better, most of his visitors would forget about their drinks in the kitchen countertop. Easy access for Gerard. He didn’t care if the beer was warm and tasted like garbage, he wasn’t letting it go to waste. Not on his house. Not while he was there. 

He had been drinking all night long. In his mind, parties were just to get blackout drunk. 

_Cuz’ once you start getting blackout drunk all by yourself - that’s when you know you have a problem_. Gerard didn’t think that he was _that_ far gone yet. He wasn’t getting drunk alone: he was getting drunk next to people he hated! It was still better than being _alone_. 

He watched the people come and go from the kitchen constantly. He would listen to their drunk laughter. The meaningless chatter between each other. It was exhausting. He tried his best not to interact with them. They weren’t his friends. He wanted to get lost on his drink. He just didn't want to be alone.

There was a moment in the night where someone offered him a line of coke. Someone that he hardly knew. Still, Gerard never ever said no to that. Other than that, he ignored anyone who talked to him. Unless they had something to offer him, they could choke. They weren’t important. 

At some point in the early morning he decided to walk out of the kitchen. He still had a beer on his hand though, and planned on going back for more. He simply wanted to take a look at Frank - that was all. He wasn't even sure why. He had a sudden urge to see his face. 

Once he was back in the living room he saw something that he shouldn't have seen. Something that his brain didn’t like. Now, alcohol always made him become aggressive. But what he felt wasn’t just anger. It was something else. Something that made his heart ache.

Frank was in one corner talking to one of Gerard’s friends. He was talking to Molko - someone who Gerard knew very well. The two of them were very close to each other,and Brian had a hand on Frank’s shoulder. They were both laughing about something. Whatever it was, it made Gerard upset. He wasn't sure why that image of Frank made him so hurt. He was too drunk to really think about it.

He started walking towards them. He pushed people around, interrupted people dancing - he didn't care. He had something more important to deal with. At some point someone pushed him back, and he almost fell into the ground. It only made him feel more upset. 

That’s when Frank noticed him.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?”  
He asked, trying to stand up straight. A task that seemed impossible at the moment. He was looking straight at Frank’s eyes. The younger man seemed alarmed.

From the tone of Gerard’s voice, Frank already knew he was in trouble. There was no doubt about it. He wasn't trying to make Gerard angry though… The guy had approached him. Frank was just being nice. They weren't doing anything else. Gerard didn’t say that he couldn’t talk to the guests. Gerard had ignored him ALL night! 

It was unfair. 

“Sorry”  
Frank said, but it was barely audible. The music was too loud. 

He was saying sorry because he thought it would calm him, but Gerard yelled back:

“Fuck you”   
He had raised his voice, enough to make a few people stare at them. He looked like he was either about to cry, or fight someone. Possibly pass out, too. 

“Take it easy, man -”   
Brian wanted to talk to him before causing any more commotion. 

Molko could tell that they were being watched. They were not going to start a fight for no reason. He knew better than that. People could take pictures of them. Maybe even get videos, and neither of them needed that type of attention. 

Especially not someone like Gerard. Not _“LA’s biggest mess”_. Not _“Way’s spoiled child”_. 

“Fuck you too”  
Gerard interrupted. He didn't want to see Brian anymore. Never again. 

Gerard was now the center of attention of his own party. Something that almost never happened. People were staring, getting closer, and whispering to each other. They wanted to see if Way was as interesting as the internet made him out to be. 

“What's the matter with you?”  
Molko was worried for a moment. It didn't take him long to realize the issue. 

As soon as he got closer to him, things became very clear. Gerard reeked of alcohol. His eyes were red and he could barely stand on his own. That was the problem. Arguing with the guy wasn't going to go anywhere in his _state_. 

“Lets go”   
He was only looking at Frank as he said this, making emphasis on the _go_. He was mad at Frank, not Brian. It wasn't like Brian was his property. Only Frank was. 

Brian didn't say anything else. It was pointless. It was only going to cause a bigger mess. Brian knew better. They could deal with it later. When they were sober, and there weren’t any _vultures_ around. 

Gerard walked away from the crowd. Frank followed him, knowing that things were not going to get better. It was obvious that he had committed a big mistake. Whatever was next wasn’t going to be good. 

People stopped paying attention to them after that. To everyone’s disappointment, the party didn't end with someone getting punched in the face. People went back to dancing as if nothing had happened. Their attention spans weren’t very advanced. 

A few people watched as Gerard walked away, but no one tried talking to him. He clearly had something to deal with. Someone. 

They entered the guest room on the first floor. The one with the painting Frank had tried to move. _Tried_ being the keyword. The younger man had avoided the room ever since. Clearly that place - or the paintings, anyway - meant something important to Gerard. 

Gerard took him there because he felt safer there. Hee also really didn’t want to go upstairs - he was too drunk to go through all that. So guest room it fuckin’ was.

“Who the fuck- you think you are?”  
He closed the door behind him. He looked completely wrecked. 

Frank took a step back. 

“I’m sorry”  
He was scared now. Drunk Gerard was a unpredictable creature. Being with him made him feel eerie. Especially in that room. 

“You think- i paid you to flirt with that- that…”  
He stopped the sentence there. He didn’t even remember who he had seen in the living room anymore. Was it Derek? Brian? His mind was not working in his favour. Names were getting mixed up. Faces were becoming hard to distinguish. 

The only thing he remembered was Frank smiling at someone. Someone that wasn’t him. Someone new. 

To be fair, he was only smiling to be polite. He had no real interest in Brian. Brian was the one asking him the dumbest things: _What's your name, uh? What are you doing here all alone, uh? What's the matter? Why don't you come closer? What, are you shy?_. Frank would barely grin, and respond in few words. 

“Gerard, i’m sorry”

“No, no. I paid you for me. Fucking- whore. Can't fucking go an entire week without it - you! God, i hate you”  
He locked the door. It was a challenge, in his current state. His vision was becoming a little blurry after all. Just a little bit. To him, he was still fine. Even if things were a bit shaky and cloudy.

“Please don't be mad at me. I don't like it”  
He was trying to get some pity, but it wasn’t going to happen. 

“Well, fuck. I don't like it when you - you go out there and try to fuck my friends either! Like a …” He stopped himself before continuing with a different question “Do you realize how much i…” He stopped again “i could have fucking sold you to someone else! I could have made Carlos take you back. I could have kicked you out into the streets. Did i do - did i do that?”

“No”  
Frank looked down, expecting the berating to continue. He had no fight left in him. The night had already been dreadful enough. He felt jaded. 

“No. Are you thankful?”

“Yes! Yes i am!”  
The man was being honest, but it all fell on deaf ears. 

“No. You go out there and do pretty faces to that jackass. I can't believe you! I- I can't believe i didnt get rid of you. Should have just thrown you to the damn street. Where you fucking- fucking belong”  
He wasn’t looking at the younger man anymore. It was as if he wasn’t even talking to him.

“Stop being so mean to me”  
Gerard just shaked his head. Frank’s reactions were only making him more upset. He wanted some type of confrontation, but Frank was giving him the opposite of it.   
Why was he pretending to be innocent all of the sudden? Who was going to believe it? 

“Take your fucking- your clothes off. All of it. Don't make me tell you again.”

Frank didn't need to hear it twice. He quickly got rid of his shirt. He got rid of the tight jeans that he didn’t like. He got rid of the shoes and threw everything to the ground. It didn’t matter - he was the one who was going to clean everything anyways. 

Gerard watched him from a few feet away. It was becoming harder to focus. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry, punch someone, or get laid. The alcohol made all of those options acceptable for him. Maybe he wanted them all. 

It was becoming harder to gather his own thoughts. He stared at Frank, anxious. _It was only a matter of time, anyway_ , he thought to himself.

“Bend over”  
Frank followed the order immediately. Bending over the bed _was_ the easy part. He didn't have any trouble with it.

The problem was that it _was_ Gerard. 

Frank took a deep breath, wondering what was next. He knew what _usually_ was next. But it still felt strange. It was weird being with someone who he actually _knew_. Someone who he actually _liked_ a bit.

The man that he was starting to actually like. The one who was supposed to be fun. It wasn't some drunk idiot with money. It was _his_ favorite drunk idiot with money. The hot one.

Gerard started getting closer.

“You made me feel all - with the kissing and the - but then… you just.” He stopped the sentence then. It wasn’t going anywhere, he was too messed up for all of that “You just go and jump to the next guy like a fucking - like the bitch you are. Why? Why would you”

“It wasn't like that. We were talking! that was it!” He wanted to get up to confront him, but he was afraid to make him angrier. Instead, he lowered his voice and tried with a different approach “You’ve been drinking too much, don't you think? Gerard?”

“You - don't try to twist this. Think i can’t fuck you like this? Are you that worried? Cause, I’m - i do this, _all the time_.” The man smiled as he said this, even though Frank couldn’t see it “And you - you do this all the time too. Don't you? Don't you act like you - like you dont know whats happening”

“i-” He wanted to try to argue with him again. But instead, he then tried with something that he thought Gerard would want to hear “i'm sorry. I’m sorry, Gerard. I wasn't trying to make you angry. I was trying to have fun. That’s all it was”

The room was cold. The position was not comfortable at all. Frank felt exposed. Tired. Scared. 

“You. I paid for you” he grabbed his asscheek and slapped him. It was mostly to get a reaction, but Frank didn't flinch “I paid cause -cause you're good. That idiot out there didn't pay shit. He's not getting any of this”  
He slapped him again. He was still smiling to himself. Having Frank’s body displayed for him made him feel different.

“Okay. I'm sorry. I won't talk to your friends then...” 

Still no reaction from Frank’s body. 

Gerard walked away. He opened one of the drawers on the room. Eagerly looking for something in particular.

He then threw that something into the bed.   
He hoped that Frank would know what to do with it, cause he was too drunk for all of that. 

“Stretch yourself. Cause i’m- i'm not helping you with - anything. Ever. You. Get on the bed; would ya?”

Frank quickly sat on the bed. As soon as he saw the lube bottle he grabbed it and poured some on his hand. At least he got lube, some guys didn't bother. That sort of thing costed more, but the money was never worth it. 

Gerard watched from a distance. The whole thing was not how he had planned the night to go. The party was supposed to keep his mind off Frank. Things hadn’t turn out right. Why was he so into it then?

After all, he knew it was just going to be trouble. That it was only going to make things worse. Things were just going to get weirder if he went through with it. No amount of alcohol was going to make him forget about that. 

But he couldn't stop looking at the younger man. His beautiful body, the spread legs, the digits going in and out. There was no way he was stopping now. Not after that sight. The alcohol was speaking loud and clear: keep going. The desire was stronger than any rational thought that he could have.

“Shouldn’t even let you do that - y’know? You don’t fuckin’ deserve it”  
Frank tried to shake away that thought. He didn’t want to imagine that. That would have been a nightmare. 

He had tried to do the smart thing and not fool around with the criminal who could get him in trouble. But damn, he couldn't keep the facade going. He wanted Frank. That was a reason he had Frank in the first place! Why wasn't he allowed to enjoy it? 

Frank had his eyes closed, focusing on the feelings he was having. He was nervous, scared and maybe - just maybe, excited. He worked himself for what felt like a long time, waiting for Gerard to say something else. Gerard’s voice would have really helped.

Sadly, he did not say anything.

He merely started taking his clothes off too. He wanted to be in that bed. But he wasn't going to bother with any praises or flirting. He was too drunk to care about such things. He simply started dropping his clothes on the floor.

Even though the alcohol made the process difficult, he did manage to undress himself without an injury. It was a miracle, really. He was glad that Frank didn't see him struggle with his own clothes. 

“Gonna fucking -gonna show you who you belong to”  
He said, having a hard time standing up completely. 

Carlos. Carl, as most people called him. Gerard was some rich kid. Carlos had actual control. 

Frank didn’t say anything. It wasn't the first time that he had been told something outrageous like that. People dirty talked him all the time. He never took it seriously. Gerard did not want him. He was just drunk - and a fucking asshole. Nothing else. It was fine. 

Frank didn't want to argue with him at all. He didn't want to get into more trouble. And really, sleeping with terrible people wasn’t something out of his comfort zone. It was part of his daily life. He wasn't going to fight any of it. 

“Tell me, you brat” Frank took a deep breath. “Who owns this?”

“You”  
Frank didn’t even _try_ to sound convincing. 

“You're goddamn right, i do.” He caressed Frank’s back. He needed to feel his skin “Got me - you got me going broke-”

Frank didn't know what the man was referring to. He didn't care. He was trying to remain relaxed instead. His mind was only focusing on Gerard’s touch. It was way easier to focus on that.

“Got me looking like an idiot. Fuck” He lined himself against Frank’s entrance, making the younger man shiver “I’m too good to you. I deserve this”

Gerard was mostly convincing himself by that point. The other man was not interested in the conversation. He was lost in the sensations going through him. The pain that was making his breathing erratic. 

“You’re so - so tight. Jesus Christ,”

Frank held tightly to the bedsheets. He kept his eyes firmly shut. He didn't want to make things any more painful. He took a deep breath as Gerard continued. He tried to stay calm as his body gave in. 

“Is this what you wanted? C’mon, tell me”

“Yes.” Gerard was not satisfied with the answer yet, so he then repeated louder “Yes!”

“Bet you’ve been wanting this all fuckin’ week. You love this. I know you do, faggot” 

The word echoed on his head. It made Frank feel filthy. 

“I love th-this” He was struggling to form sentences. Gerard’s pace was forceful and messy “i’m-”

“How the fuck am i going to get rid of you? I should, i know i should - but”  
His mind was still wandering. The pleasure was making it harder to think. 

“No! Don’t get rid of me”

“Then don't make me! You think Brian is going to fuck you like this? C’mon”  
Gerard didn't expect an answer. He didn't care. He was trying to prove a point. His pace was faster now. Hearing Frank’s heavy breathing was enough for him.

“No! I want you”  
By that point he wasn’t even sure if he was playing it up or not. The words escaped from his mouth. 

“You fucking better” 

Things were different with Gerard. Frank was finding himself _moaning_. Even if it was too quiet for the other man to even notice. His body was actually reacting to Gerard’s. For once, he was aroused and ached for some attention. 

There was something about _him_. It wasn't a regular drunk hookup. At least it didn't feel like one. This time he was actually enjoying himself for a change. At least his body was, anyway. 

“Christ,” He took a moment to catch his own breath. “Can i? Can i t-touch myself?” 

Gerard pulled on Frank’s hair. He wasn't even sure why. The action made the younger man cry in pain. It only made Gerard want to do it again. He liked the control. 

“P-please! I’m sorry!” He insisted. He didn’t know if it was what Gerard wanted to hear, but he was going to try. Sweat was quickly dripping from his forehead. “i-i won't talk to your friends!”

Gerard was growing tired. The booze and the line of coke earlier wasn’t enough. The buzz was gone. He was already feeling sleepy. The moment he heard Frank whimper he knew it wasn’t going to last much longer. 

“Touch yourself, cum, i don’t care.” He was slurring his words now, having a hard time to keep his thoughts together. He focused on hitting Frank’s spot again “This isn’t about you. Why do you always think that- it's about you?”

“I’m s-sorry, Gee.”   
He didn’t need to hear any more. He touched himself, trying to keep up with Gerard’s rhythm. 

“You're mine. All mine. Don't forget that. Anyone else- anyone else would have fucked you and kicked you out. Youre so fuckin’ lucky”

In a way, he was right. Things _could_ theoretically be worse. Compared to working in the streets, Gerard’s house was a dream come true. Even if it meant drunk sex and the occasional berating. It was still better than what Frank was used to. Life was entertaining at least. 

He _was_ lucky. And he was actually having fun too. Gerard was probably having fun as well. Frank tried not to take Gerard’s words too seriously though. It was the type of things men told him in the heat of the moment; that was it. Then they would leave and it would be the end of it. 

“Yours! I’m sorry! I’m sorry”  
He cried out, feeling his orgasm approaching. His legs were trembling and he felt like his body was going to give out. His heart was pounding faster than ever. He felt a spark through his entire body. 

Frank cried louder. This time, Gerard could hear it loud and clear. 

It felt so much better than with the other men he was used to. 

It was unfair in a way, knowing that everything was going to end. And that sooner or later, Gerard would leave. The way everyone left him. 

****

“Now, get out of here. I need to take a - take a fuckin’ nap”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay im back no1 cares. my psychologist and my psychiatrist (Ayyy lmao) both think writing is good for me so im sorry for yall wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He woke up early.

He was sleeping in a couch along with three complete strangers. Not a first time for him, though. The strangers were knockout drunk though. They didn't even flinch when Frank pushed them to get up from the couch. They were gone. They merely groaned and went back to the position they were in before. 

Frank took a few steps and stopped to look around the living room. Not everyone got as lucky as him. Most people were sleeping in the dirty carpet. The carpet that _Gerard_ owned. Gerard being the of guy that used his furniture as garbage disposers.

It stressed him out. So many people. So much fuckin’ trash surrounding him. Not knowing _who_ Gerard would be today. Not knowing who _he_ himself was going to have to be today. God, there was a lot to worry about.

He took a deep sigh. It was all he could do at the moment.

He picked up a beer can from the floor. One gone, about 80 more to go. At least cleaning would keep his mind busy. At least he didn't have to see Gerard for a few more hours. He wasn’t the type to wake up before 3 in the afternoon. 

Other than the tingling sensation on his head, he was mostly fine. At least he wasn’t with Carlos anymore. At least he didn’t woke up naked and with new bruises in his body. At least not big enough to bother him while he did the cleaning.

He picked up a different beer can from the floor. Two gone, probably 100 more to go. And that's without counting the ones that were probably under Gerard’s bed. 

This wasn't anything he was foreign to. This was similar to a Monday morning with Carlos. Feeling sore all over, cleaning like you're getting paid by the minute. Except you’re not. You’re just hurt, and alone and fear that you’ll get in trouble if you don’t.

***

All of Gerards friends were gone by the early afternoon. Gerard was nowhere to be seen though. People just left. He didn't say goodbye to anybody. He didn't even come out for food.  
It was strange. Frank wasn't sure he wanted to see him though. It was boring being on his own. But being around Gerard was either the best thing ever or hell itself. There was no inbetween. He didn't want to find out who Gerard would be on that day.

Okay… Maybe a little. 

He did knock Gerard bedroom door couple of times. But no one had come out. And there was no answer to his callings. So this was a Gerard that **didn't** want to see him. 

_If_ he was there at all.

The guest room was empty….

The cars were still in the garage though. No signs of someone inside any of them. 

Frank just sat on the couch and waited. And waited. He had to come out eventually. Right? Sooner or later he would come. Frank upped the volume on the television. He felt anxious all of the sudden. The tv screen was set on some news show. He wasn't paying attention to it though. He was just staring at the screen as his mind wandered elsewhere. Maybe if the volume was loud enough it would distract him a bit.

Frank hadn’t eaten anything in all day. He was waiting for Gerard. If they didn’t eat together, he wasn’t eating at all. He was too nervous.

At some point the newscaster said

“...went missing last friday afternoon”

It got Franks attention immediately. Completely snapping his attention towards the television. He leaned to the screen a little closer, as if the newscaster was talking only to him. As if he had all the answers in the universe.

“... Pale complexion” Oh god “Blue eyes, blonde hair.”

The show featured a picture of the individual in question. The man had no similarities with Gerard. Whatsoever. But Frank still stared it at for a few seconds, squinting his eyes **just to make sure**. Just to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. That Gerard was safe. Probably. Right?

What if…

“Bryar’s family has stated…”

What if…

When was the last time Gerard had talked to Carlos? His mind was blank. Completely blank. He hadn't seen him at the party. But maybe he hadn't been looking hard enough. Had he seen Gerard? Had he _talked_ to Gerard? Were they in good terms? Was _he_ in good terms with Carlos? Frank wished he was.

What if…

***

He fell asleep. His body sort of gave up on him. Crashed in the couch while the tv ads were playing. He was so tired.

*** 

“Noo! Don’t do it!” A woman screamed on the television “Let me go! PLEASE! Just let me go!” 

Frank cringed hearing the woman screech. It was not what he wanted to wake up to. The woman screeched again. Now she was louder, cause the villain had finally catched her. Frank simply didn't care at the moment. 

He tried to reach for the control remote without even opening his eyes. He was too fucking tired. He just wanted the woman to shut up. As soon as he felt the control near him he turned down the television entirely. 

Peace. Silence. Going back to sleep.

“What the hell? I was watching that!”  
The man yelled from the kitchen. For what it's worth, he was not actually watching that. Vaguely listening that, at most. 

“Gerard?”

The sound of his voice was enough. He felt fully awake now. He was looking around the room frantically. Trying to find the owner of the voice he had heard. Trying to see him again. 

“I was watching that!” He could hear his steps getting closer “What the hell! Put it back on!”

“Gerard!” 

It was him. He was right there.

“I said,-”  
Gerard was about to say something, but Frank immediately talked before he did

“When did you come back?”

“Come back?”  
He genuinely wasn't sure if he heard Frank correctly. He had spoken so fast and loudly that Gerard wasn't sure he got anything he said.

“You were gone! You were gone!”  
He repeated the sentence, but it came off just as rushed as the first time. 

“I was right here.” Gerard was smiling, but he had no idea what he was talking about “Basement?”

“Oh.”

Frank had not considered that for a single moment. It wasn't **his** house. And he was aware of it. He went in the rooms that he was allowed to be in and nothing else. No snooping. If Gerard had not mentioned there was a basement, he wouldn't have found out there was one. He was not going to do anything that could make him angry.

“Did they steal shit?”

“Uh?”

“Did my friends steal shit?”

“No, i kept an eye on them!”

“Good!” Gerard started getting closer, the smile on his face was gone now that he was talking about his acquaintances. “Don't trust those bastards, okay? Ever”

Frank nodded, but wasn’t really listening. He was still processing the fact that Gerard was back. The past few days he had spent so much time with Gerard. Suddenly losing him had made him so incredibly worried.

“Always stealing my shit” Gerard kept mumbling to himself. 

“What were you doing down stairs?”

”Smoking” 

“All day? You spend all day smoking? In a locked room?”  
He was genuinely asking, cause that sounded terrible for Gerard’s health. ANd he did not like the idea of Gerard hurting himself, even if it was with something as innocuous as smoking. It was still bad. Especially alone… Without him...

“There’s a tiny window, you know. I was fine”

“Hmmm”  
Frank laid down on the couch again. He stared blankly at the television. The screen was black and now there was nothing to distract him.

“I was painting”  
Gerard finally admitted. He didn't think Frank would care. But he clearly did, like a lot more than he should.

“For the project you were working on?”  
He immediately turned to Gerard again.

The older man just smiled.

“That’s adorable”  
He said and started walking away without further explaining what he meant. It made Frank feel like a complete idiot. As Gerard usually does.

Frank took a deep sigh. He was back. And he was still a complete asshole. Thank god. Gerard was fine.

“You had fun without me?”

The younger man wasn’t sure what to respond. He never even contemplated such a thing. 

The house was gigantic and there were so many thing to do. So much shit to steal too. The man had a pool. The garage has multiple cars. The kitchen had enough food to feed a whole family for a year. There was so much shit. Hell, the place was so huge he had been able to hide all day. Frank didn’t even consider that there was a basement. There was probably so much more he didn’t know about.

But he didn’t have fun whatsoever. The place wasn’t comforting. It was overwhelming. And being by himself most of the day really showed him that. 

The house felt empty. So much shit. And no people. No fun. Nothing. Just waiting to see Gerard again. Nothing there was charming once you were sober and alone. It felt empty in a way, even with so much stuff in it.

“Just watched the tv”

“Were you watching my movies?”

The man had a display of hundred of blu ray cases. Some classic movies Frank recognized. Mostly shit that he hadn’t seen ever. He only knew of _it_. But there were too many movies. How can you pick what to watch? Ever? Frank couldn’t even read all the movie titles there. Let alone pick one.

“Don’t like horror films”

“Bullshit. You just haven’t watched the right horror movies, alright? Don’t say things like that here.”

Gerard had already made him go through a few of his favorite titles already. Frank spent most of the time closing his eyes, looking away, or thinking about nice non bloody things. Why didn’t Gerard like nice, non bloody things? WHY?! Why did he like all the movies with the bloody things?

“I was watching the news”

“What? Are you, 80 years old?”

“The lady had a soothing voice!”  
Frank wished he was kidding, but she really did.

“Maybe eighty five?” He took a pause before asking “Did they talk about me?”

“No!” Frank immediately recoiled. That question made no sense to him “Why would they?”

“Nothing”

Gerard was back in the kitchen, so Frank couldn't see his face. But he could tell he was bothered by something. It made him curious. Gerard hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no reason that they would discuss him on the tv. Frank didn’t watch the tv ever, but he would have definitely noticed if Gerard had been featured there. Then again, he never watched it, so...

“We don’t watch the news channel here. No gossip or talk shows or any of that type of shit. Its fucking stupid. They lie about shit. Don’t put it on again”

Frank could tell there was more to it, but didn’t want to go there. Gerard’s voice was tense. That meant trouble. So he just stayed silent.

Gerard finally came back with a bowl filled with popcorn. More than any man could ever eat by himself. It was one of the first things Frank noticed once he started living with Gerard: Gerard never finished most of his meals. He always made way too much. He wanted to ask about that.

Later though. 

“What are **we** watching?”  
When Gerard finally sat down, Frank immediately started grabbing some of his popcorn. No warning or anything. Just started grabbing some as if it was his. He was so hungry. It wasn't even good popcorn. They were soaked in so much hot sauce that they hardly tasted like anything else.

“Uh?”  
The man grabbed the control remote to rewind the movie he had started.

“What are **we** watching?”

Gerard smiled. He couldn’t help himself at all. He had to.

“American War Dogs from Hell 5”

Of course. Of fucking course. That absolutely sounded like something Gerard would watch.

“Really?”  
He tried to sound surprised, but he wasn’t at all. The movie was gonna suck, but he was gonna watch it anyway. At least Gerard had fun with things like that. He would laugh and start telling trivia. That kept Frank more entertained than the whole massacre and war dogs thing.

“Part 5 is called, the Return of the Red Pig or something.”

“Is it really a pig?”  
Frank asked. He didn't care, but he knew Gerard loved talking about that type of stuff. And he liked when Gerard was happy.

“I mean, it’s a cheap ass movie.” It worked, Gerard was beamed for a second “It looks more like they painted a wolf mask red and called it a day.” He adds “But he does oink! Like, creepy oinks!” 

“At least it’s realistic”  
Gerard smiled again. 

“I think you’ll like it!”

***  
This time, when Frank woke up, Gerard was right there. And that felt so good. He deserved that. He sure fucking did. He didn’t want him gone. Not in a long time, at least. When he was bad, he was the worst. But god, when he was good...

The older man hadn’t woken up yet. And it was even better. No mood swings or any of that. He was quiet, calm, and, he had to admit to himself, he looked good. 

Frank didn’t want to get up. He liked things they were. He leaned closer to Gerard and went back to sleep.

…


End file.
